asked the Taoiseach the reason for the omission of statistics relating to employment, hours of work and wages in Ireland for agriculture and industry from statistics issued by the EEC Commission.
Written Answers. - Agriculture and Industry Statistics.
63.
The information issued in the publication Social Statistics 5/1975 by the Statistical Office of the European Communities in respect of employment, hours of work and wages for agriculture relate to a survey carried out in 1974 under Regulation 677/74/EEC of 21st March, 1974. As a survey of this kind had not been undertaken previously in Ireland, it was necessary to carry out a smallscale pilot test to assess various methods of data collection and the likely technical difficulties associated with a full-scale inquiry. The pilot test, which was undertaken in agreement with the EEC, was successful in this respect but was not designed to produce numerical results.
The quarterly results of the Irish national inquiry in respect of employment, earnings and hours worked in industry are forwarded as a matter of course to all the relevant international organisations; OECD, ILO and the Statistical Office of the European Communities (SOEC). The data supplied are not at present incorporated in the publications of the SOEC because the national industrial classification and definitions currently used are not completely identical with those of the SOEC. Work is at present being carried out to revise the classification and the definitions to bring them into conformity with those in operation in the EEC.