Accident prompts Westmeath IFA to release safety video

The Kinnegad farmer who lost an arm in a farm accident, and who just avoided losing his life thanks to his 11 year old son, speaks of the accident, and the impact it has had on his life, in a DVD launched by Westmeath IFA at their annual dinner dance at the Bloomfield House Hotel.Denis Killeen is now back farming again, but, Westmeath IFA chairman Paddy Donnelly told the gathering at Saturday"s dance, there had been no back-up for him in the wake of the accident, and no counselling offered.Before showing the video at the dance, Paddy reminded the audience that Denis"s accident was one that could happen to 'any of us'.'The family allowed Westmeath IFA make a dvd, and we are hoping it"s the first step: one, that it will make people aware how dangerous it can be on the farm; and two, that this family got no help - no back-up, no counselling - and we hope in Westmeath IFA to rectify that in the coming year, that if any family is unfortunate to suffer an accident on the farm, that there will be back-up and counselling.'Denis Killeen, and his wife Phoebe, and the hero of the story, son Gerald, who ran back to the house to tell his mother to get help, and who applied a tourniquet to his father"s arm after the accident, were at the dance, and congratulated by IFA president, Pádraig Walsh, who officially launched the video.Earlier, in his speech to the large crowd at the dance, Mr. Walsh said that there had been major change in outlook over the past year.'There was a fantastic air of optimism last year. Markets and market prices were at an all-time high. The ban on Brazillian imports was announced. Then the whole debate about the World Trade Organisation took place, and at the end of the year, the dioxin crisis, and during the year, grain prices fell back to lower than they had been.'The only 'stock' to hold its value in the last twelve months had been cattle, he said, pointing out that if you held €10k in Bank of Ireland shares twelve months ago, they were this week worth just €360. While a lot of other farm produce was under pressure, cattle prices, meanwhile, were up 15 per cent on last year.'Over the last 5-10 years, a lot of people at various farmer conferences and even at the Ploughing Match were encouraging farmers to invest off-farm, and at a lot of these meetings, you might have felt like a fool if you weren"t doing it, but people who kept their feet on the ground are better off today.'Mr. Walsh criticised the Government for its decision in October 07 to terminate the Farm Improvement Scheme, and said that since then, it has axed the Farm Retirement Scheeme, the Tillage Aid, Installation Aid, and the Suckler Cow Scheme.'It"s very frustrating dealing with it,' he admitted, and he hinted that there were other fears out there: 'A lot of good work was done on farms in terms of investment, but it"s vital farmers are paid what they"re owed on these buildings at this stage.'Referring to the Government"s determination to save €2bn, he said that Ireland has to reduce the cost of doing business. Incentives have, he said, to be put in place for people to start employing staff again; and the cost of electricity needs to be cut back by 20 per cent.