Farmer Mental Health and Farm Safety: Statements Seanad Éireann — 2025-11-12 ============================================================ Anne Rabbitte (FF), Nominated by the Taoiseach I thank the Minister of State for being in the House. Sometimes the sign of something good is when cross-government Ministers are working together. Having both Ministers of State here this afternoon shows two Departments that take farms, farm safety and farm well-being seriously. It also shows collaboration. I thank the Minister of State for being in the House for her opening remarks. It is not often that it happens but it is important to recognise it. We are speaking today to emphasise two interlinked but often overlooked issues facing farm community, farm safety and mental health. The stark fact is agriculture remains one of the most dangerous sectors in our economy. According to the Health and Safety Authority, over the last decade, farming accounted for approximately 38% of all workplace fatalities, despite representing only 11% of the workforce. When we look at fatalities on farms involving vehicles and machinery, the numbers are even more alarming. Nearly half of all fatalities on all farms involve tractors, vehicles or PTO shaft entanglements. This unacceptable risk demands robust action. I welcome the Government's commitment, particularly the announcement under the national farm safety measures in 2025 introduced by the Department, which provides grant aid covering 60% of the cost of up to four PTO shaft covers. I also welcome the Minister of State's allocation in this year's budget of €3 million dedicated to farm safety, health and well-being initiatives in the agricultural sector. We all know it was a difficult budget and to secure €3 million on this particular topic is welcome. I know it was hard fought. However, this key safety on farms cannot be looked at in isolation. The mental health of our farmers is deeply important. Farming is not simply a job; it is a lifestyle and way of life often embedded in family land, in the community and in identity. The burdens are many - long hours, lone working, heavy machinery, weather, market-driven, uncertainty, environmental and regulatory pressures, succession issues and isolation. That is why it was welcome at this year's ploughing championships that the Minister of State, Deputy Butler, announced the 15,000 additional counselling hours with ring-fenced funding of €2 million. Timing is everything, and doing that coming into the winter period, when the days were getting shorter, prices were whatever they were going to be and knowing when next the bills could be paid is really welcome. These are not just statistics we talk about; they are sons and daughters, mothers and fathers and neighbours and friends, members of our rural communities, whose mental health demands urgent attention. We must do three things: raise mental health awareness and reduce stigma in the farming community; ensure mental health is treated as integral to farm safety and farm business viability; and provide accessible supports tailored to the farming context and culture. I am struck by what Senator Daly said about those 15,000 counselling hours at the kitchen table, at a time that meets the farmer at a time when they have the capacity to attend. Sometimes the first step is the hardest to get that talking going and to break down the barriers. On awareness, I commend the On Firm Ground programme, now in its second phase, which trains advisers, vets, departmental staff and others who engage with farmers to recognise distress, to ask the right questions and to signpost supports. Evaluation shows it has significantly increased in the knowledge and wellness of advisers to support farmers' mental health issues. On treating mental health as an integral part of farm safety, I believe that every farm safety briefing, every advisory visit, every machinery inspection should incorporate a well-being check. On supports tailored to a farming context, we already have some promising leads, including farmer-specific awareness programmes, peer group resilience initiatives and supports designed for men working in a male-dominated environment. It is welcome that the Minister, Deputy Butler, again this year has secured enough funding for 300 whole-time equivalent staff, with over €50 million allocated to crisis support and suicide prevention. In total, it is a mental health budget of almost €1.6 billion in 2026. Staff and numbers like that have an impact for our farming families. That means greater access, greater availability and, I hope, greater comfort in reaching out. In the spirit of partnership and action, let us reaffirm that no farmer should ever feel that asking for help is a sign of weakness. Let us ensure farm safety is not just about gates, crushes and PTO covers but also about the safety of the person using them. Let us make sure every adviser, vet, contractor and milker entering the farm door carries not only the checklist for machinery but also an awareness of mental well-being. Let us continue to drive evidence-based supports tailored to and delivered in farming communities at times and places that suit them. I welcome the statements and thank the Minister of State for being here and for giving his time to this very important issue. --- Source: Houses of the Oireachtas. Licensed under CC BY 4.0 (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/). The Official Report is revised after first publication; the fetch timestamp below identifies the version quoted. Record URI: https://data.oireachtas.ie/akn/ie/debateRecord/seanad/2025-11-12/debate/main Retrieved: 2026-08-14T04:54:18+00:00 Sitting date: 2025-11-12