Children on farms are being left to do work which is not age appropriate and is dangerous to their health.
That’s the view of the Agri Aware group which is looking to spread more information about the hazards of working on a farm during Farm Safety Week.
Figures have shown that 21 children have sadly lost their lives on Irish farms over the last decade.
The group runs the Farm Safe Schools programme with 21 schools and over 1,000 students taking part in County Wexford last year.
Co-ordinator of the programme Alma Jordan told South East Radio they are trying to educate kids so they can be safe when helping out at home.
“All too often we are seeing children being exposed to situations on our farms that are not age appropriate.
“They’re being expected to handle and control a piece of machinery that they’re not yet mature enough to handle.
“We do hope that by instilling in them at an early age, all these different skills, advice and tips, that we’re going to make them instinctively safer should they one day become a farmer.”
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