Despite comprising just four per cent of the workforce, agriculture accounted for more than one third of work-related fatalities last year
Ireland recorded its lowest ever rate of work-related fatalities in 2024 according to provisional data published by the Health and Safety Authority (HSA).
A total of 33 people lost their lives in work-related incidents in 2024, a reduction of almost a quarter on 2023 fatalities. Self-employed workers accounted for more than half of last year’s fatalities, with 18 deaths recorded.
The fatality rate per 100,000 workers has fallen from 2.7 to 1.2 in the ten-year period from 2015 to 2024, marking the fewest work-related deaths since the establishment of the Authority in 1989.
The construction sector saw a significant decline from ten fatalities in 2023 to five in 2024, a decline of 50 per cent, while the agriculture sector saw a decline from 20 fatalities in 2023 to 12 last year, down 40 per cent.
All agriculture deaths last year were farming incidents, representing more than a third of all fatalities from a sector employing just four per cent of the workforce.
Vehicle related incidents (10 fatalities), incidents involving heavy/falling objects (six fatalities) and falling from height (five fatalities) were the leading causes of work-related fatalities in 2024 accounting for 64 per cent of all fatalities.
Of the 33 work-related deaths recorded in 2024, 30 were male and three were female. Cork, Dublin and Offaly accounted for the highest records of fatalities in 2024, with three fatalities occurring in each county.
Commenting on the significant reduction on fatalities in Irish workplaces, Conor O’Brien, Chief Executive of the Health and Safety Authority, said,
“It is positive to see such a decline in the overall fatality figures for 2024, in particular the significant reduction in the high-risk agriculture and construction sectors,” said HSA chief executive Conor O’Brien.
“However, every work-related death is preventable. Vigilance and advance planning around health and safety at work is crucial to lowering the number of deaths further”.
HSA chief inspector Mark Cullen added: “We know from the data that those aged 55 and over represent two-thirds of 2024 fatalities. As Ireland’s labour force is ageing, employers must pay particular attention to work activity involving older workers and ensure that the risk to their health and safety is proactively managed”.
