asked the Minister for Agriculture if he is aware that in the year 1936 (at the passing of the Agricultural Wages Act), 560,371 males were employed on the land; that in 1937 the number had fallen by 5,163 to 555, 208; that in 1938 the number had fallen again by 17,986 to 537,222; that in 1939 the number had fallen again by 6,323 to 530,899, showing a total decrease of 29,472 in three years, while in the three years to June, 1938, the lands under crops showed an increase of 45,507 acres; and will he indicate if the present drive for further increased tillage shows an increase or a decrease in the number of males employed, and to what extent.
Ceisteanna—Questions. Oral Answers. - Agricultural Workers.
The figures for the numbers of males engaged in farm work in the years 1936 to 1939 are correctly quoted by the Deputy, but the figures quoted as an increase in the crop area between 1936 and 1938 are those for the total extent under crops and pasture. Actually between 1935 and 1938 the statistics show a decrease of 23,172 acres in the tillage area or a decrease of 69,498 acres in the area under tillage crops and hay. In the year 1940, the latest for which the information is available, the number of males engaged in farm work was 543,837, an increase of 12,938 over the number in 1939.
Is the Minister satisfied that the numbers are increasing again?
Yes; according to that, they are.