Agriculture
Agriculture has traditionally been a cornerstone of the Irish economy. Official figures indicate that there are up to 120,000 employed in this sector. When we include family members living on farms the numbers potentially exposed to safety risks in farming is approximately 400,000. The Agriculture sector has a very high risk profile and consistently has the highest fatality rate of any sector.
Fig 1 Major Causes of Fatal Farm Accidents (2000-2010)
Figure 2: Key Accident Statistics (2004-2010)
| | | | | | | | |
| Year | 2004 | 2005 | 2006 | 2007 | 2008 | 2009 | 2010 |
| Total Fatalities (All Workplaces) | 50 | 74 | 50 | 67 | 57 | 43 | 48 |
| Total Agriculture & Forestry Fatalities | 13 | 18 | 18 | 11 | 21 | 11 | 25 |
| Agriculture/Forestry /Fishing Fatality Rate* | 13.3 | 14.7 | 15.5 | 17.7 | 15.5 | 13.4 | N/A |
Non-fatal injury data | | | | | | | |
| Total injuries reported to HSA | 8098 | 8024 | 7974 | 8299 | 8058 | 6977 | 7073 |
| Agriculture & Forestry reports | 78 | 100 | 93 | 87 | 90 | 88 | 77 |
| Agriculture & Forestry reports as & of total | 1% | 1.2% | 1.1% | 1% | 1% | 1.2% | 1% |
*Fatality Rate is calculated per 100,000 workers in the sector.
All fatalities indicated in the table above are under the following NACE A sub categories: · Crop and animal production, hunting and related service activities · Forestry and logging |
Health and Safety on Irish Farms
Farms continue to account for the majority of workplace deaths even though only approximately 6% of the workforce i.e., c. 115,000 people work in Agriculture. In addition to those at work, approximately 400,000 people are exposed to risk if we include all family members (children and elderly).
Health and Safety Authority figures show that the fatality rate in agriculture, in particular, is alarmingly high. The sector has a far higher fatality rate than any other major economic sector.
There are generally over 550 fatal accidents in farming across the EU each year. The EU average Fatal Accident rate stands at 12 fatalities per 100,000. In Ireland the Fatal Accident rate has fluctuated between 13 and 16 Fatal Accident’s per 100,000, this includes many deaths to persons over 65 still actively farming. The old and the young are exceptionally vulnerable to death and injury on Irish farms.
Check Fatal and non-fatal accident statistics in the sector.