Farmer Mental Health and Farm Safety: Statements Seanad Éireann — 2025-11-12 ============================================================ Eileen Lynch (FG), Agricultural Panel I thank the Minister of State for being here today to discuss such an important topic. I commend him on his work on farm safety since he came into this role. This is something that affects every farm family across the country. It is vital that we raise awareness of it and that we put in place schemes to try to prevent farm accidents. I come from a farming background in north-west Cork. I have met countless farm families whose daily lives revolve around the hard work, dedication and resilience associated with farming. Our farmers are a vital part of rural Ireland. They provide our food and take care of the land but there is often a stigma and a silence around safety and, more predominantly, around mental health and well-being. Farming is undoubtedly one of the most rewarding ways of life but it is also one of the most dangerous. Too many lives have been changed in an instant by farm accidents, moments that remind us that no job or task is worth a life or a limb. I will take a moment to mention Féile O'Sullivan, a young lady from Allihies in west Cork who suffered a life-changing injury on her farm in July. Féile's courage and determination since that day have inspired people right across Ireland. Recently we had a fundraiser for her, the sale of an animal in Macroom mart, so her story has travelled across the country. It reminds us that every statistic of an injury in terms of farm safety is a person. It affects a family. It affects a community. Féile's journey also underlines the importance of prevention when it comes to farm safety, the importance of taking a few extra seconds to think safety first every time, and when it comes to that, if we look at our older farmers as well, there is the importance of generational renewal and succession planning. Approximately 45% of farm accidents happen to those who are over 65. While we recently published the report of our own commission on generational renewal and the European Commission has published a report on generational renewal, we need to put those plans into action such that we have proper succession planning in place. Another aspect is that the average age of farmers here is 59. We have to get on top of that. We have to deal with it because somebody who is older is probably more likely to make a mistake, statistically, than a younger person. When we see this high proportion of accidents in the over-65s, it is vital that we would plan ahead and try to prevent this from happening. Farm safety is not only about physical protection. We are also discussing the mental health element today. It is about the mind as well as the body. The pressures facing farmers today, from market uncertainty to weather extremes, climate, long hours and isolation, take a toll on people that we cannot ignore. Senator Kyne has mentioned it, but it is important to stay in touch with people, stay in touch with your community and make sure that if you are out on a job, people know where you are. Ideally, you would have a phone on you, and it is about taking an extra minute to evaluate a job before you decide to do it on your own and see whether you might be better off getting somebody to help you with it. As I said, it is an isolating job. That is why we see such rates of depression, mental illnesses and mental health issues among those in farming because it is a difficult job. People such as Peter Hynes, a dairy farmer in Cork, have been vital in highlighting this issue. He has spoken out about his own mental health journey, breaking down the stigma and showing that strength is often found in openness and that it is okay to discuss these issues. Through his advocacy, he has shown that asking for help is not a weakness but an act of courage, and it can also save lives. We are also lucky to have the Slí Eile initiative in north Cork. It provides hope for those struggling with mental health challenges. Their community-based approach, which offers recovery, dignity and belonging, shows what can be achieved when we treat people with compassion and understanding. It is this kind of grassroots, person-centred model that deserves our continued support and investment. Rural Ireland must never be left behind in the conversation on mental health and safety. That means ensuring access to services, promoting education from the classroom to the mart and supporting local groups, who know their communities best. We can also do more to integrate farm safety into everyday practice, from school curriculums, Teagasc training, green cert training and health checks to grant schemes that promote safer machinery and safer facilities. Every euro that is spent on prevention is a life potentially saved when it comes to farm safety. We need to renew our commitment to make Irish farming both safer and kinder. We need to remember the courage of Féile O'Sullivan. We need to follow Peter Hynes's example in speaking up and support vital works of groups such as Slí Eile, which is building a better future for rural Ireland. No farm should cost a life and no farmer should suffer in silence. Together, through awareness, compassion and action, we can build a safer, healthier and stronger rural Ireland and safer farms. --- 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