The Health and Safety Authority has said it is concerned there could be a spike in child fatalities on Irish farms this year as a result of the Covid-19 crisis.
More and more children are out on farms because of the virus and with schools closed.
In recent weeks there have been a number of farm fatalities, including a five-year-old boy who died on his family’s farm in Co Roscommon.
HSA inspector Pat Griffin told RTE “Farms are by far the most dangerous places of work in Ireland that we are concerned about this year, in that we may get a spike in child deaths in 2020”.
He said people usually involved in off-farm work are now around the farm more often, and children are also off school, which means the risk of injury is greatly increased by both inexperienced adults and unaware children.
Mr Griffin also said that the most vulnerable people are young children and older adults. Last year 13 of the 18 people who were killed on Irish farms were aged over 60.
He added “We would appeal to farmers to please, please look at child safety, children are at home for an extended period of time and may want to get out and down the yard. We would appeal to farmers to go down the yard with their children, look at the risks and eliminate them if possible.”
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