Eighteen people died in farming accidents last year, a figure described as "highly disturbing" by Minister for Labour Affairs Billy Kelleher.
The figure is revealed in the annual report of the Health and Safety Authority for 2006 published today.
Half of those who died in accidents in the agriculture sector last year were over the age of 65. The gradual increase in the number of deaths in the sector in recent years contrasts with the decline in fatalities in the construction sector, the HSA report reveals.
Minister for Labour Affairs Billy Kelleher
A total of 12 people died in construction workplace accidents in 2006, down from 23 or more than 50 per cent on the previous year.
Of the 50 workplace deaths in 2006, the most common cause was a fall from a height (ten deaths) followed by a fall, collapse or breakage of material (nine fatailities). In the agriculture sector, most fatal accidents were attributed to loss of control of an animal (four deaths), loss of control of machinery (four deaths) and falls from a height (three deaths).
The report also reveals that non-Irish national workers have a higher rate of fatal accidents than Irish workers. In 2006, the rate of deaths among non-Irish national workers was 3.2 per 100,000, while it was 2 per 100,000 Irish workers.
Most of the non-Irish nationals who died in 20005 in workplace accidents were in the construction industry. However, last year they occurred across a range of economic sectors, an issue the HSA said is was actively addressing.
Speaking in Dublin on the publication of today's report, Mr Kelleher said he was personally committed to ensuring that economic prosperity did not come at the expense of worker health and safety.
He said a report for the Department of Enterprise, Trade and Environment last year revealed that accidents and ill-health in the workplace cost the economy an estimated €3.6 billion a year.
"A figure of this size is in obvious conflict with an objective to safeguard economic prosperity and has to be reduced," the Minister said, noting that the causes of workplace deaths and accidents were "not obscure or highly technical".
"They are what many workers would call 'everyday' things. This tragic and needless loss of life could be avoided if there was more thought given to safety and an inherent aversion to risk taking among people. This is one of the central messages the Authority is advocating. Everybody needs to think 'safety first'," Mr Kelleher said.
He said the reduction and prevention of non-fatal injuries and accidents is also a key priority for the HSA. So-called 'manual handling' incidents continue to cause most workplace injuries, the HSA report states.