Ministers Heydon and Healy-Rae launch Open Call for Farmer Safety, Health and Wellbeing Projects
- Foilsithe: 17 Aibreán 2025
- An t-eolas is déanaí: 18 Aibreán 2025
Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine, Martin Heydon, and Minister of State for Forestry, Farm Safety and Horticulture, Michael Healy-Rae, have today launched an open call for farmer safety, health and wellbeing projects.
Announcing the call, Minister of State Healy-Rae said:
“Farming is the most dangerous occupation with regard to fatalities in the workplace. It can also be a stressful occupation. Recognising the unique challenges that farmers face, this open call will support projects that support best practice that minimises the risk to the safety of our farmers and promote positive physical and mental health and wellbeing across the farming sector. I am confident that by working together, the successful applicants will deliver projects which will have a practical and positive impact on the lives of farmers, their families and everyone involved in farming.”
Welcoming the open call, Minister Heydon said:
“Through dedicated funding of €2.5 million for this year, my department continues to implement initiatives that help to improve the safety, health and wellbeing of our farmers and farming community. This open call builds on the success of the first open call which I funded last year. The open call will encourage stakeholders to deliver projects that not only promote farm safety, but also the importance of physical and mental health among farmers.”
The projects will be funded from the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine’s dedicated farm safety budget. Successful projects under the call will cover one or more of the following themes:
- farm safety
- farmers’ physical health
- farmers’ mental health and wellbeing
- farmers’ physical and mental health checks
- tractor driving awareness training for children 14 years of age and older
- chainsaw training for farmers
- farm safety, health and wellbeing events/engagement
Applications under the open call can be emailed to farmsafetycall@agriculture.gov.ie or sent by registered post to:
Crop Policy, Evaluation and Certification Division, Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine, Backweston Administration Building, Celbridge, Co. Kildare.
The closing date is Monday, 19 May 2025.
The Specification Document and Application Form are available at www.gov.ie/farmsafety.