Louth Macra bring farm safety to the fore

Louth Macra bring Farm Safety to the Fore

On Monday the 6th of October Louth Macra Young Farmer Development Group held a Farm Safety Information evening in the Crowne Plaza Hotel in Dundalk. The event was attended by a large crowd from the surrounding counties and there was total attention from the audience for the duration as they listened to the speakers. Pat Griffen from the Health and Safety Authority give a detailed report on the problems faced on Irish farms on a daily basis. The main part of the evening involved three local men: John Mc Donnell, Tom Hoey and Kevin Mc Enteggart sharing their accounts of how farm accidents had, and almost had, life changing consequences on their lives. Brian Rohan from the organisation EMBRACE gave an overview of the work they are doing with the families that are left behind after many of the tragic accidents along with playing video footage they recently launched. A demonstration on how simple a new PTO cover product can be adapted to different shafts was given by Michael Hanlon of Hanlon Machinery. The night was concluded with a large number of contributions from the crowd on different personal farm experiences and an open discussion on health and safety issues on Irish farms. UTV were present on the night as part of the production of their Rare Breed series which will be broadcast in Republic of Ireland in the New Year. It is hoped that information nights like this will help reduce the level of farm fatalities that has spiralled out of control this year.