Vol. 420 No. 5
33 Mr. Connor asked the Minister for Agriculture and Food his views on whether (a) the Common Agricultural Policy Reforms agreed to by him on behalf of this country means that the contribution of agriculture to the overall growth in GDP in the Irish economy over the next decade will be fixed at negative and (b) this is in the national interest given that agriculture contributed about 9 per cent to overall growth in GDP in the economy in the decade of the 1980's.
Agriculture has contributed between 8.4 per cent and 11.9 per cent to overall gross domestic product over the last 10 years. Recent preliminary calculations carried out by my Department indicate that in the first full post Common Agricultural Policy reform year, the overall contribution of agriculture to GDP will increase; the extent of its contribution in coming years will of course depend on dynamic changes which will occur such as the adjustment by farmers of their production to the new set of prices, costs and subsidies.
These calculations indicate that any losses incurred by way of either price or volume cuts as a result of the Common Agricultural Policy Reform measures will be more than compensated for by way of increased direct payments and reduced input costs. In addition, these measures will also be accompanied by a range of socio-structural actions relating to early retirement, agri-environment and forestry.
I am confident that the agreement reached will help to stabilise farm incomes and enable the agriculture and food sector to continue to make a substantial contribution to the overall well being of our national economy.
