asked the Taoiseach if he will state (a) the trend revealed by the National Farm Survey generally as to the volume of agricultural employment in the various size groups, (b) the size groups which provide, on average, full-time employment for one or more hired farm workers, (c) the average number of weeks of casual employment in the other size groups, and (d) the approximate number and distribution of full-time agricultural workers between the several size groups and the estimated part of the whole per cent. in each case, having regard to the average number of hired full-time workers on the farms surveyed.
Written Answers. - National Farm Survey.
The date requested at (a) of the Deputy's question have been published in the interim reports of the National Farm Survey for 1955-56 and 1956-57. This information for 1955-56 together with separate particulars for male hired labour is given in the following table:—
LABOUR units per farm—National Farm Survey 1955-56.
|
Size Group |
Total Labour (Family and Hired) |
Hired Labour |
|||
|
Total |
Male |
Equivalent in man weeks of male labour units |
|||
|
Male labour units |
|||||
|
5-15 |
acres |
1.14 |
0.02 |
0.02 |
1 |
|
15-30 |
,, |
1.52 |
0.06 |
0.05 |
3 |
|
30-50 |
,, |
1.76 |
0.16 |
0.16 |
8 |
|
50-100 |
,, |
2.21 |
0.45 |
0.44 |
23 |
|
100-200 |
,, |
2.89 |
1.09 |
1.06 |
55 |
|
Over 200 |
,, |
4.26 |
2.71 |
2.67 |
139 |
A male labour unit is defined as an adult male working for 52 weeks; juvenile and female labour has been converted to male labour units as explained in the Interim Reports.
(b) and (c). The figures given above measure the average time per farm devoted to farm work expressed in terms of male labour units. For the two size groups "100-200 acres" and "over 200 acres" the figure for average male hired labour is greater than unity while for the four smaller size groups the average is less than unity. The equivalent in man-weeks of male hired labour is given in the final column of the table. It is not possible from these figures to distinguish between full-time employment and casual employment but the following table shows the distribution of farms in each size group according to the number of male hired labour units in 1955-56.
DISTRIBUTION of farms according to male hired labour units—National Farm Survey 1955-56.
|
Size Group |
Male hired labour units |
Total |
||||||
|
Nil |
less than 0.50 |
0.50-1.50 |
1.50-2.50 |
2.50-3.50 |
3.50 and over |
|||
|
Number of farms |
||||||||
|
5-15 |
acres |
122 |
48 |
1 |
— |
— |
— |
171 |
|
15-30 |
,, |
265 |
124 |
15 |
— |
— |
— |
404 |
|
30-50 |
,, |
203 |
162 |
45 |
2 |
— |
— |
412 |
|
50-100 |
,, |
137 |
149 |
134 |
22 |
— |
— |
444 |
|
100-200 |
,, |
38 |
49 |
104 |
40 |
17 |
8 |
256 |
|
Over 200 |
,, |
10 |
8 |
25 |
39 |
20 |
35 |
137 |
(d) A special examination of each individual Farm Survey book would be required to obtain the data requested at (d) of the Deputy's question and comparison between the different size groups would be vitiated by the fact that different sampling fractions were used. It is however possible to provide comprehensive data on this point from the Census of Population 1951 and the Agricultural Enumeration of June 1949, which are as follows:—
NUMBERS, by size of holding, of male agricultural labourers returned at the Census of Population 1951 and of males (other than members of family) permanently engaged on farm work as returned at the Agricultural Enumeration of June 1949.
|
Size Group |
Census of Population 1951 |
Agricultural Enumeration 1949 |
|||
|
Male Agricultural Labourers* |
Percentage of total |
Permanent Male Workers (other than members of family) |
Percentage of total |
||
|
Under 5 |
acres |
299 |
0 |
1,414 |
2 |
|
5-15 |
,, |
1,967 |
3 |
2,658 |
3 |
|
15-30 |
,, |
5,097 |
7 |
5,311 |
7 |
|
30-50 |
,, |
10,559 |
13 |
9,115 |
12 |
|
50-100 |
,, |
23,036 |
29 |
21,304 |
27 |
|
100-200 |
,, |
20,841 |
27 |
21,185 |
27 |
|
Over 200 |
,, |
16,332 |
21 |
17,129 |
22 |
|
Area not stated |
6,163 |
Excl. from percentage calculations |
|||
|
Total |
84,294 |
100 |
78,116 |
100 |
* Including those at work and those out of work.
The corresponding total number of permanent male agricultural workers returned at the June 1957 Agricultural Enumeration was 55,070. Separate size group figures from this source are not available for a more recent year than 1949.