A five-year-old boy has died as a result of an accident on a farm near Nenagh, Co Tipperary. The boy died after he fell under the wheels of a tractor which was being driven by his father. The incident occurred early Friday evening and the boy's name has not yet been released.
The Garda and the Health and Safety Authority were both carrying out investigations over the weekend. The Garda confirmed last night that the incident is being considered as being purely accidental.
The HSA said last week it will not be conducting an investigation into the death of a 3½-year-old boy killed on a farm in Galway because it was a "domestic accident".
The boy died after he fell from a moving jeep on a farm at Ahascragh at around 6.15 p.m. last Monday. The precise details of the incident are not yet known, but gardaí had referred the death to the HSA.
"The accident was at the home, it was a domestic accident and was not related to a workplace activity so we will not be conducting an investigation," the HSA said.
In April a 15-year-old boy died in an accident involving a tractor at his family's farm at Ballymacarbry, Co Waterford.
Seven people have died on farms so far this year and in the last 10 years, 45 children have lost their lives in farm accidents.
While he said he could not comment on the latest death, the chief executive of the Health and Safety Authority, Mr Tom Beegan, called on the farming community to "redouble" its safety efforts.
"The human cost of farm accidents far outweighs the economic cost," he said.
Children and the elderly are more likely to die in farm accidents.
Thirteen of the 19 people killed last year were either under 15 years of age or over 65.
The HSA is running a TV advertising campaign to increase farm safety awareness.