(Limerick West) asked the Minister for Agriculture if he will comment on the EC Commission Document COM (85) 333, Perspectives for the Common Agricultural Policy presented to the EC Council and Parliament which stated, inter alia, that the average agricultural income per annual work unit is low and sometimes very low in Ireland and Greece, and that the tabulated data accompanying this document gave average farmer income data for Ireland for the years 1980-83 as gross value added per AWU in agriculture — 5,500 ECUs, and if he is satisfied that the average Irish agricultural income in these years was only 41.3 per cent of the average Irish income.
Written Answers. - Agricultural Income.
105.
The statistical data on income indicators in agriculture and the overall economy in member states, as shown in the Commission document referred to, have to be interpreted with caution. The inclusion of a large number of part time workers, both male and female, in the agricultural labour force as used in the document gives rise to substantial difficulties of enumeration and of subsequent comparison. In these circumstances it would be misleading to draw conclusions as to the relationship between average Irish agricultural incomes and average Irish income on the basis of such statistical data. Indeed if both incomes were calculated on a comparable basis, the difference between them would be greatly reduced.
106.
(Limerick West) asked the Minister for Agriculture actual income values for agriculture excluding horses for each year since 1978, making appropriate allowances for part time farmers in his reply.
Official data on farm incomes broken down between full time and part time farmers are not available either including or excluding horses.