asked the Minister for Agriculture and Fisheries if his attention has been drawn to the results of the survey carried out by An Foras Talúntais on farm incomes; if he accepts the income figure shown for small farmers as realistic; and, if so, what he proposes to do to increase it.
Ceisteanna—Questions. Oral Answers. - Farm Incomes Survey.
7.
I have seen the report on the farm management survey, 1968-69, recently published by An Foras Talúntais. The primary object of that survey was to provide information concerning levels of farm outputs, costs and incomes and the variation in these as between different regions, farm sizes and farming systems. Thus there is a wide range of figures in the report for family farm income on small farms which vary with those factors. The figures are also affected by the fact that a substantial number of the farms surveyed were part-time and they do not give a complete picture of the income position of small farms because they do not take into account income from non-farm sources. Furthermore, it should be borne in mind that as the survey relates to 1968-69 the figures are now two years out of date and in the intervening period farm incomes generally have improved considerably.
As the Deputy is aware, there is a wide range of agricultural measures in operation which are of special help in improving the income position of smaller farmers. These include the small farm incentive bonus scheme, the beef cattle incentive scheme, relief of rates on land, the tiered system of creamery milk price support and differentiation in favour of smaller farmers in the grants payable under the land project and the farm buildings scheme. Such measures are kept under review and are adapted from time to time to meet changing circumstances as, for example, in the recent Budget.
Is the Minister not aware that the farmers are not getting a fair share of the national income? In answer to a question I asked about a fortnight ago the Taoiseach informed me that while the farmers represent roughly 28 per cent of the population, last year they got only 14.8 per cent of the national income. Surely the Minister is also aware that the gap between industrial earnings and agricultural earnings has now widened to between £8.50 and £9 per week. Would he not agree that the Government measures, as far as the farmers are concerned, have been a failure so far?
Deputy L'Estrange's supplementary question relates to a different subject——
It does not.
——but it is inescapable that there has been, since the survey was carried out, a general increase in farm incomes from the year 1969-70 to the current year on the all-farms figure, from £714 to about £800. As my earlier reply said, there is a general, continuous rise in farm incomes. I would prefer to see a rise at a faster rate, but a great many measures are in operation to see that a faster rate is achieved.
Would the Minister not agree that even the Minister for Finance had to admit that farm incomes were dropping? Surely he must agree that even three years ago farmers were getting almost 20 per cent of the national income and that, therefore, if it is now down to 14.8 per cent, farm income is dropping? Everyone knows it and yet the Government stand idly by and do nothing about it.
The facts, even as brought out in the farm survey, are to the contrary.
The Minister must know he is talking through his hat. Can nobody tell the truth in this House at any time? Surely he knows that is completely misleading.
According to the Minister's own statement, farm incomes have gone up by £86 since 1969. Would he not agree that industrial workers' earnings have gone up by between £200 and £300?
We are discussing farm incomes.
As compared with industrial incomes, which have gone up by between £200 and £300, farm incomes have gone up by only £86?
Is the Deputy objecting to that?
They have not gone up enough.
I have never hesitated to express concern about the gap that exists between industrial incomes and non-farm incomes generally, on the one hand, and farm incomes, on the other hand. However, on the point raised by Deputy L'Estrange the survey that is the subject of the question did highlight the fact that the increase between the year 1967-68 and the following year was 30 per cent on an all-farms basis, and in the year following that there was a further 80 per cent increase. These are not my figures; these are the figures of the survey.
Surely the Minister must take into consideration the actual earnings of the farming community and of the other sections and the fact that there is a gap of between £8.50 and £9 per week.