Dáil Éireann debate -
Thursday, 9 Dec 1999

Vol. 512 No. 5

Written Answers. - Farming Sector.

Michael P. Kitt

Question:

15 Mr. M. Kitt asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and Rural Development the number of family farms; the number of part-time farmers; and if he will make a statement on the likely trends over the next five years. [26347/99]

Minister for Agriculture, Food and Rural Development (Mr. Walsh)

The Central Statistics Office's agricultural labour input release indicates that there were 146,200 family farms in the country in 1998. The number of farms below 20 hectares has been declining in recent years while the number of farms above that size has been rising slightly. The overall rate of decline in farm numbers in Ireland has been lower than that in most other EU countries.

Teagasc's national farm survey provides an estimate of the proportion of farmers in the sample working in some form of off-farm employment. In 1998 the figure was 30%. On 44% of farms either the farmer of his-her spouse had off farm employment. These figures have been rising in recent years. As the Teagasc sample excludes some very small farms, it is probable that the actual figures for all farms are somewhat higher than this. I expect both of the above trends to continue.

I welcome the increase in part-time farming, as this is the best route to viability for many of our farm families. A clear impact of this can be seen in the sharp decline in recent years in the proportion of farmers in relative poverty, as measured by the number with household income per person below 50% of the national average. Farmers in fact now have a much lower risk of being in relative poverty, 13%, than the population in general, 22%.