Farm Safety
Dail Éireann — 2026-01-29
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Robert O'Donoghue (LAB), Dublin Fingal West

I thank the Minister for putting that funding in. Given the many fatal incidents involving farmers attending livestock alone, can the Minister outline what targeted, practical measures are in place to support farm workers to work safely and whether he will consider enhanced supports and conditions through farm schemes or incentivised safer practices? We need measures as we have an ageing agricultural workforce and many farmers are isolated. We need better measures to protect them. Will the Minister consider introducing a targeted wage subsidy or financial support scheme to enable older, more isolated farmers to hire part-time assistants to reduce workplace risk? Has the Department already examined models that would allow lone farmers on farms to access safety-focused employment support. We will need to implement such schemes to protect farmers' health and safety and workers' rights.

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Record URI: https://data.oireachtas.ie/akn/ie/debateRecord/dail/2026-01-29/debate/main
Retrieved: 2026-08-14T04:54:34+00:00
Sitting date: 2026-01-29