Dáil Éireann debate -
Tuesday, 22 Oct 2002

Vol. 555 No. 5

Written Answers. - Farm Income Levels.

Dan Neville

Question:

138 Mr. Neville asked the Minister for Agriculture and Food if he will establish a commission on farm income to take an in-depth look at all aspects of farm income, the key outcome of this process being income benchmarking for farmers. [18799/02]

Dan Neville

Question:

140 Mr. Neville asked the Minister for Agriculture and Food if he will use export refunds intervention and internal aids to provide the income required under benchmarking. [18801/02]

Paul Kehoe

Question:

165 Mr. Kehoe asked the Minister for Agriculture and Food if he will establish a commission on farm income to undertake an in-depth examination of the farm income crisis; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [19099/02]

Minister for Agriculture and Food (Mr. Walsh)

I propose to take Questions Nos. 138, 140 and 165 together.

Farm incomes are the subject of ongoing monitoring and analysis. My Department estimates that average income per person employed in agriculture increased by 15% in 2001 and 12% in 2000. The National Farm Survey produced by Teagasc shows average family farm income increased by 17% in 2001 to €15,840 net. This follows an increase of 22% in 2000. Eurostat estimates that average farm income per full-time worker equivalent, adjusted for inflation increased by 7.8% in Ireland in 2001. This compares to an average increase of 3.3% in the EU as a whole.

The latest Household Budget Survey for 1999-2000 shows that almost 60% of farm household income now comes from non-farm sources, including off-farm employment, social welfare and other income. The increased availability of off-farm employment opportunities in rural areas has contributed to the future viability of many farm families. In view of the increasing importance of non-farm income to farm households, I have established a steering group on farm household income to assess up-to-date and comprehensive data in this area. My Department chairs this group, with participation from the CSO, Teagasc and the ESRI.

My Department also commissioned a report from the ESRI, the Living in Ireland Survey. LIIS, which provided additional information on total farm household income in 1994, 1997 and 1998. A project by the ESRI on farm household income and viability has also been provided funding under my Department's research stimulus fund. The EU Commission is currently preparing a regulation which is replacing the LIIS called the EU-SILC – EU survey on income and living conditions – which is being undertaken by the CSO and will provide data on total farm household income on an annual basis.

Public expenditure by my Department amounted to €2.7 billion in 2001. A record €1,382 million of this was spent on direct payments to farmers, which accounted for 53% of aggregate farm income. Effective use has been made of mechanisms such as export refunds, intervention and internal aids to support prices at critical times. More than €500 million was spent in 2001 on market supports such as export refunds and intervention. This very high level of public expenditure underlines once again the commitment of the Government to the Irish agri-food sector.

In the context of the mid-term review proposals, I am requesting the EU Commission to carry out an impact analysis on the proposals, especially decoupling. In that regard I would expect that the impact on farm incomes should be taken into account.