Breeda Moynihan-Cronin
Ceist:76 Ms B. Moynihan-Cronin asked the Minister for Agriculture and Food the steps he is taking to reverse the decline in farm incomes; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [3143/03]
Written Answers. - Farm Household Incomes.
Public expenditure by my Department amounted to €2.8 billion in 2002. A record €1.6 billion of this was spent on direct payments to farmers, which accounted for more than 68.5% of aggregate farm income. This very high level of public expenditure underlines once again the commitment of the Government to the agri-food sector. I will continue to support farm incomes by maximising the level of direct payments to farmers and ensuring that the EU Commission utilises all available market management tools to support the markets to their fullest extent. It should be remembered that farming is a cyclical business and is dependent on a number of factors including the weather and markets which contributed to the overall income decline in 2002.