Two new Action Plans recently launched in conjunction with the Health and Safety Authority:
- Farm Safety Action Plan 2025–2027
- Health and Social Care Advisory Committee (HSCAC) Action Plan 2025–2027
Farm Safety Action Plan 2025–2027
The Farm Safety Partnership (FSPAC), an advisory committee to the Health and Safety Authority (HSA), launched the latest Farm Safety Action Plan 2025-2027, aimed at significantly reducing fatalities, injuries and occupational health issues in Ireland’s agricultural sector on Wednesday, 2 July.
Key elements of the Farm Safety Action Plan 2025–2027 include:
- Promote cultural and behavioural changes to improve farm safety and health.
- Protect vulnerable groups, including children, older farmers, and migrant workers.
- Reduce deaths and injuries caused by high-hazard activities such as vehicle operation, livestock handling, and working at heights.
The FSPAC has established five dedicated working groups to address the following key risk areas:
- Behaviour, Education, and Training
- Vulnerable Persons and Health
- Vehicles and High-Risk Machinery
- Livestock Handling
- Farm Buildings, Construction, and Work at Height
The new action plan also includes innovative measures such as virtual reality training, enhanced education for children and young farmers, and practical supports for older farmers, who remain the most vulnerable demographic.
The Farm Safety Action Plan 2025–2027 is available to download here.
Read the HSA’s Press Release in full here.
Health and Social Care Advisory Committee (HSCAC) Action Plan 2025–2027
The Health and Social Care Advisory Committee (HSCAC), an advisory committee to the Board of the Health and Safety Authority (HSA), on Monday, 30 June, published its 2025–2027 Action Plan, a landmark initiative to enhance occupational health and safety standards across Ireland’s largest employment sector.
The HSCAC has identified five key goals to support the HSA’s work:
- Enhance information and intelligence to inform interventions.
- Promote a positive health and safety culture in the workplace.
- Promote and support safety representatives and safety consultation in health and social care workplaces.
- Undertake initiatives to reduce the risk of injury to employees from work-related violence and aggression.
- Enable employers and employees to implement best practice in managing the risk of work-related psychosocial hazards, in particular work-related stress and work-related bullying.
The Health and Social Care sector is the largest employer in Ireland and in 2024 accounted for 13.7% of all employed persons. Formed in late 2023, the HSCAC acts as a platform for key stakeholders to advise and support the HSA in promoting best practice in occupational health and safety in the sector.
The Health and Social Care Action Plan 2025–2027 is available to download here.