Latest news with #MichaelHealy-Rae
Agriland
a day ago
- Business
- Agriland
Healy-Rae launches report on horticulture education
Minister of State with responsibility for horticulture, Michael Healy-Rae, has launched a report into the available of courses for studying horticulture. The Horticulture Education Review Report was launched at the Bord Bia Bloom Festival by the minister today (Friday, May 30). The Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine said that the report delivers on a strategic action in the National Strategy for Horticulture 2023-2027, which includes a commitment to review horticulture course availability and suitability for a modern dynamic industry. The report includes a number of recommendations, including the establishment of a new committee called the Horticulture Education Leadership Group (HLEG). This committee would be tasked with assisting with reviews of horticultural educational content at all levels. That committee would also be tasked with preparing material that can be used by education providers and industry stakeholders to promote and market horticulture as an attractive and rewarding career. The HLEG committee should also work on an all-Ireland basis to share information on horticulture promotion. Commenting on the new report, Minister Healy-Rae said: 'I would like to thank the authors of the report, Dr. Owen Doyle and Brian Arnold for their work in completing this important review. 'The recommendations in the report set out clear actions for the horticulture sector to take forward to enhance its attractiveness as a future career choice. 'Launching the report at Bloom 2025 is particularly relevant as we celebrate and showcase all that is great about our horticulture sector, from gardens, plants and food produce; including its skilled professionals – landscape gardeners, florists, commercial growers, farmers, academics, advisors and scientists – the key foundation on which the horticulture industry is built,' the minister added. He thanked the horticulture industry, retailers and education providers for their engagement on the report. 'The recommendation to establish a new Higher Education Leadership Group that will input into the curriculum content and coordinate advocacy campaigns will be key to inspiring the next generation of horticulturists into this important and dynamic sector,' Minister Healy-Rae said. He added: 'I particularly welcome the focus on a 'global horizon' ensuring that our future graduates at all levels will have the required knowledge and skills to further advance sustainable practices and drive continued innovation in the sector.'
Agriland
3 days ago
- Automotive
- Agriland
Farmers and public urged to think farm safety during summer
Farmers and the general public are being called on to think farm safety during the busy summer months, when tractors and machinery are frequently out on the roads and farms are busy. Minister of State with responsibility for farm safety, Michael Healy-Rae, has asked farmers and everyone visiting the countryside to be extra vigilant. Speaking today (Wednesday, May 28), Minister Healy-Rae said: 'The weeks ahead will be a busy time on farms up and down the country. Children are beginning their holidays and many of us will be out and about enjoying the countryside. 'It is important that we are safety conscious over the summer,' he added. With tractors and large machinery moving on public roads, the minister reminded farmers and contractors to ensure that all precautions are in place to prevent the risk of an incident. He stressed the importance of contractors and farmers ensuring that measures are in place to address all safety hazards before work begins. Minister Healy-Rae said: 'Machinery operators driving on public roads need to be conscious of other road users as many may not be aware of the risks posed by farm machinery, particularly on narrow, winding roads. 'The Irish countryside is a wonderful amenity which we should all take advantage of, and I am calling on all road users to be patient and to be aware of farming activities at this time of year, he added. The Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine is advising farmers to check that there are good lines of sight when accessing public roads from yards and fields. Warning signs and cones should be used to alert road users of machinery movements. Any debris or soil brought onto a public road by machinery should be removed without delay. The minister also highlighted the risk posed by livestock and advised that fields with livestock should be avoided and dogs should always be kept on a lead to avoid disturbing livestock or wildlife. He said: 'By working together to keep everyone safe, our memories of summer can be ones we will look back on fondly.'
Irish Examiner
3 days ago
- Irish Examiner
Think farm safety this summer, minister warns
In the lead-up to the June bank holiday weekend, farm safety minister Michael Healy-Rae has asked farmers and everyone visiting the countryside to take extra care this summer. Mr Healy-Rae said: 'The weeks ahead will be a busy time on farms up and down the country. Children are beginning their holidays, and many of us will be out and about enjoying the countryside. It is important that we are safety conscious over the summer. 'Machinery operators driving on public roads need to be conscious of other road users, as many may not be aware of the risks posed by farm machinery, particularly on narrow, winding roads. "The Irish countryside is a wonderful amenity which we should all take advantage of, and I am calling on all road users to be patient and to be aware of farming activities at this time of year," he said. Farmers should use warning signs and cones where entrances have poor visibility, and any debris or soil brought onto a public road by machinery should be removed without delay. Mr Healy-Rae also advised the public to avoid fields with livestock and to keep dogs on leads. 'By working together to keep everyone safe, our memories of summer can be ones we will look back on fondly," he added. Read More HSA issues warning amid 'concerning rise' in workplace fatalities
Agriland
22-05-2025
- Business
- Agriland
Minister welcomes increase in forestry harvesting capacity
Minister of State with responsibility for forestry, farm safety and horticulture, Michael Healy-Rae has welcomed the discussion at the sixth meeting of the Forest Windblow Taskforce. The Forest Windblow Taskforce was set up by the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine, earlier this year in the wake of Storm Éowyn, which caused substantial damage to thousands of hectares of forestry. The taskforce comprises stakeholders representing forest owners, forestry companies, Teagasc and Coillte. Minister Healy-Rae said: 'I welcome the progress made following the recent workshop involving taskforce members, as well as agreement on the next steps in the action plan.' He added that the action plan is being used as a guide 'in tackling the harvesting, silvicultural, training, supply chain and marketing challenges posed by the catastrophic Storm Éowyn event that occurred on the 24th of January, 2025, and resulted in record breaking levels of windblow to Irish forests'. Minister of State at DAFM Michael Healy-Rae Minister Healy-Rae continued: 'I very much welcome how proactive the sector has been in tackling the various issues. 'The harvesting capacity on the island is being increased as machines are being brought into the country to help in the harvesting effort. 'I also welcome the fact that the harvesting capacity is now mostly involved in areas where there is wind damage.' The minister added that there has been an effort to seek new and expanded export markets for both round logs and finished sawn timber, and that the sawmills in Ireland have confirmed their ability to increase capacity. The minister concluded: 'I fully realise that we still have a lot to do. For example, capacity in the haulage sector, and in particular with the current shortage of drivers, is a big issue that we are working to address.' The minister said that an action plan is currently being worked on by the taskforce to identify issues, bottlenecks and proposed solutions. Forest licensing According to the department, currently 65% of the windblown area has a felling licence, with an additional 11% with applications in the system, which are prioritised. Regarding the other 24%, DAFM is now writing to these last remaining 24% to encourage them to submit an application.
Irish Examiner
22-05-2025
- Health
- Irish Examiner
Company outlines how reduction of paramedics in air ambulance service poses safety risks
The company which provides a life-saving air ambulance service for the State raised serious concerns about flight safety risks after the HSE's National Ambulance Service (NAS) introduced changes to the medical crewing model on the aircraft. The crew changes included rostering just one paramedic to work some of the shifts on the aircraft, which operates from a base near Millstreet, in Cork, to covering the south west and beyond. In an explosive email, a senior official in Gulf Med Aviation Services (GMAS), which provides the aircraft and pilots for the service under contract to the NAS, said since the changes: he had seen a marked deterioration in how the medical staff on board the helicopter perform their aviation tasks while tasked to work shifts on the helicopter; he had seen "workflow and cognitive errors" in the aviation-focused tasks the medical crew need to perform safely as part of the helicopter crew; and how the 'low levels of motivation, concentration, and attention to the task' that appear to have resulted from the recent medical crew changes is 'evident and impactful'. Malta-based GMAS went so far as to formally ask NAS officials for 'an intervention at the earliest opportunity' to address the issues, which were flagged in February. The HSE has insisted, however, that the helicopter emergency medical service (HEMS) is safe and working effectively, that the crewing model is safe for both patients and crew, and that there are no outstanding matters of concern in relation to the contract. The revelation comes just weeks after the Irish Examiner reported how the HEMS covering the south was at risk of being grounded in a row over NAS moves to cut the number of paramedics rostered to work on the aircraft from two to just one. Farm safety minister Michael Healy-Rae described any such move as 'reckless'. The crewing changes were being advanced despite internal reports warning HSE and NAS management that a solo paramedic crewing model poses a risk to patients, to the paramedics and pilots, and poses a flight safety risk. The Irish Examiner reported last March how one internal report warned that if the NAS couldn't provide two paramedics for each of the HEMS aircraft, then the service should be stood down on those days. The HEMS is currently operating several shifts with just one medical crew member on board. The National Ambulance Service provides two dedicated HEMS responses in Ireland - one based in Cork, operated by GMAS, and the other in Athlone operated by the Air Corps - with medical staff on both aircraft supplied by the NAS. File picture: Dan Linehan A senior manager also warned that a single patient safety incident such as a drug error, an in-flight patient emergency, or in the worst-case scenario, a crash, would bring the crewing issue 'sharply into focus'. Concerns were also expressed in March that the NAS was recruiting emergency medical technicians (EMTs) to replace the second paramedic on the aircraft. Qualifying as an EMT takes just five weeks. EMTs cannot perform any of the major 'interventional skills' required to help critically ill patients, including intubation – the placing of a tube in a patient's airway – and the intravenous administration of powerful painkillers, which are often required of patients who need an air ambulance. The NAS provides two dedicated HEMS responses in Ireland - one based in Cork, operated by GMAS, and the other in Athlone operated by the Air Corps - with medical staff on both aircraft supplied by the NAS. In 2022, GMAS won the competitive tender for the delivery of the Cork-based service, taking over from the previous charity provider in February 2023. It is understood the company won the tender again earlier this year. GMAS has an aviation safety management system (SMS) which underwrites the approval of its HEMS service here by its regulator, TM-CAD, the civil aviation directorate in Malta. The National Ambulance Service said it takes concerns raised around the safety of its services very seriously. File picture: Larry Cummins But earlier this year, concerns were emerging from within the service about changes the NAS was making to the medical crewing model on board the aircraft, which included reducing the number of paramedics rostered to work the aircraft from two to just one on certain shifts. In his letter to NAS officials in February, the GMAS official said the HEMS base in Cork had been operating for about two months with a limited medical team on the helicopter. 'It is important that as the operator of the service, we ensure our SMS processes are robust and commensurate with the acceptable risks that prevail during intensive HEMs operations,' he wrote. 'As we understand it, the advanced paramedics are generally spending seven shifts on the helicopter operation within a five-week period. The complex mix of other duties away from the HEMS operation further reduces their capacity to cope. 'As a result, Gulf Med is experiencing workflow and cognitive errors in the aviation centric tasks required of the paramedics that are critical for them to safely interface with the aviation side of the operation. In addition, the low levels of motivation, concentration, and attention to the task that appear to have resulted from the recent changes is evident and impactful.' The company said safety is the number one consideration for all aviation operations and the regulations demand that due attention is given to the management of changes. 'In this case, the HEMs Rathcoole unit has seen three new HEMs paramedics very recently trained and allocated to the helicopter,' the GMAS official said. 'These individuals were trained and certified in a multi-practitioner role (two medical crew on board) and had barely consolidated before being rostered in the single practitioner role on the helicopter. The risks involved in such a change are self-evident. 'For example, a paramedic returning from a significant period away from the unit is often required to mount a HEMS mission in the first few minutes of arriving at the base. This is not a safe practice.' It said like most safety critical activities, all that has to happen for a serious incident or an accident to occur, is for the good people involved to do nothing. The Gulf Med official said he felt they were at the point where something needs to be done to improve: the recent experience of all staff on board the helicopter to match the risks involved in the operation; the mental capacity of junior members of the team to cope with the HEMs role; and a reduction in the disruption and changes that are clearly affecting the motivation, concentration and attention to detail that is necessary to remain safe. GMAS did not respond to requests to comment. Any issues relating to a contract like this, and which are being raised for resolution, must be raised by the relevant company through a formal contract management framework which has been established through the relevant public procurement process. In a response to queries from the Irish Examiner, the NAS said it takes concerns raised around the safety of its services very seriously. 'Any concerns or issues raised in relation to the HEMS are escalated through our agreed contract management process and dealt with expeditiously,' it said in a statement. 'Currently the HSE and Gulf Med Aviation Services are satisfied that services are safe and working effectively. 'The crewing model for the HSE's HEMS is safe for patients and staff. Since its inception in June 2012, the HSE HEMS has operated a successful crewing model consisting of one specialist paramedic and one EMT. 'In September 2024, the HSE commenced a feasibility study to examine the need for physician-delivered HEMS in Ireland. The preliminary results of the trial have not supported any change to the HEMS crewing model, hence the trial period has been extended into 2025.' The HSE said both of its HEMS continue to operate normally, with further support, if required, provided through the Irish Coast Guard's search and rescue aviation service.
