We top EU cancer cases Organic gives us thought for food

Driving instructor Steven Hodnett, of Two Wheels Training in Enniscorthy, told the inquest Mr Martin had already completed several practice runs of stopping at a T-junction without incident before the collision. Mr Martin began training at 8.30am and they had returned to training after a co ee break at around 12.40pm when the accident happened.

He said Mr Martin was knocked out on impact, while his helmet came o his head and was later discovered on the far side of the wall.

HSA inspector Joeline Cantwell said no defects had been found with the helmet, while all the required risk assessments and safety statements were in place at the time.

Post-mortem results showed Mr Martin died from multiple traumatic injuries consistent with a motorcycle colliding with a wall. Lawyers for Mr Martin’s family claimed his death was avoidable as his helmet was not correctly fastened. Ms Gannon said the deceased’s catastrophic injuries were not con ned to his head. Based on the evidence, she returned a verdict of accidental death.

made and the checks he carries out around electricity to make his farm safer.

e FSPAC is an advisory committee to the board of the Health and Safety Authority (HSA).

An increase of up to 41% in the number of farmers converting to farming organically in some of the county’s strongest dairy counties this year, has been recorded by the Department of Agriculture. Kilkenny and Carlow were among the lowest in applications.

Tipperary, Limerick, Westmeath and Meath have all seen an increase of 30-41%. Tipperary submitted 73 new applications to the Organic Farming Scheme (OFS) which started on January 1, and the number of organic farmers in the county now stands at 204.

However, it’s understood that the actual number of dairy farmers converting to organic has remained low. The department was unable to say how many farmers have been accepted into the new scheme, which closed in December and saw 2,100 applicants.

The number of organic farmers in the country has more than doubled in the last year and now stands at 4,112, according to the Department.

Carlow, Dublin, and Louth have the lowest number of farmers farming organically, with each having less than 15.

Late last year Jack Nolan, Head of the Department’s Organics Division, said the number of organic farmers in the country was “defi - nitely going to go up by a thousand or more every year for the next couple of years”.

Before 2023, dairy farmers accounted for 2.5% of the land being used for organic farming in Ireland, while tillage stood at 4.5% and horticulture 0.5%.

‘Mixed’ farmers accounted for 4.5% of the land farmed organically, while livestock was at 88%, according to the department.