Vol. 556 No. 5
62 Mr. McGinley asked the Minister for Agriculture and Food the way in which he measures annual farm income; the way in which farm incomes have changed for the years 1998 to 2001; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [20685/02]
There are a number of ways of measuring farm income, these include aggregate farm income, average income, average family farm income and farm household income.
Recent data from the Central Statistics Office indicate that aggregate farm income has recovered following a number of difficult years in the late 1990s. Aggregate farm income rose by 4.2% in 2001 with an increase of 8.6% in 2000 this followed a fall of 10.5% in 1999 and an increase of 0.6% in 1998. My Department estimates, based on the Central Statistics Office quarterly national household survey, that the 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 this increased by 17% in 2001 to €15,840. 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.
