Vol. 399 No. 3
79 Mrs. T. Ahearn asked the Minister for Agriculture and Food, the number and the percentage of spouses of farmers in (a) the country and (b) in South Tipperary who have (1) full-time and (2) part-time jobs off the farm; and if he will make a statement on the matter.
The precise information requested is not available.
The following table, prepared from the 1987 farm structure survey, gives, for Ireland and for Tipperary South Riding, estimates of the number of spouses who did some farmwork in the year ended 31 May 1989; and the number and percentage of those with another gainful activity, either as a major occupation or as a subsidiary occupation. Estimates of the total number of farmers are also given.
The farm structure survey is conducted every two to three years in accordance with EC Regulations. The 1987 survey was based on a sample of 19,000 farms, 8.8 per cent of the total, and, thus, the results are subject to sampling and other survey errors. Estimates at county level are subject to significantly higher sampling errors than those at State level and the results given in the table for south Tipperary should therefore be considered as providing broad indications only.
The results at State level show that, of the estimated 71,800 spouses who carried out farmwork, approximately 56 per cent had another gainful activity — 46 per cent with the other gainful activity as their major occupation and 10 per cent with it as their subsidiary occupation. The relevant percentages in Tipperary South Riding were similar to those at State level.
|
Tipperary |
||
|
Ireland |
S.R. |
|
|
No. of farmers1 |
215,600 |
5,700 |
|
Spouses contributing farmwork2 |
71,800 |
2,500 |
|
Of which: |
||
|
With another gainful activity |
40,000(55.7% |
1,400(55.4%) |
|
Other gainful activity is Major Occupation |
32,900(45.8%) |
1,200(47.3%) |
|
Subsidiary Occupation |
7,100(9.9%) |
200(8.1%) |
