Tom Kitt (Dublin South, Fianna Fail)

Comparable figures are not available on the numbers of full-time and part-time farmers for the full period from the 1950s to 2004.

Up to 1991 the focus was on the land holding, without distinguishing between the holder's full-time or part-time involvement in farming. In 1950, there were 317,900 agricultural holdings of at least one acre. In 1960, the figure was 290,300. By 1970, there were 279,500 and in 1980, there were 263,600 holdings of more than one acre.

In the 1991 census of agriculture, a new system was introduced which focused on the operational aspects of farming. All farms of more than one hectare, about 2.5 acres, were surveyed. It distinguished whether the farmer was involved full-time, that is, his or her sole occupation was farming, or part-time, that is, farming was a major or subsidiary occupation for him or her. For 1991, the total number of farms was 169,900, of which 124,700 were full-time and 45,200 were part-time.

The most recent available figures are from the 2003 farm structures survey, indicating a total of 135,100 farms — 77,900 full-time and 57,200 part-time. The new system introduced in 1991 would suggest an approximate comparable total of 193,000 farms in 1980, of which 158,000 were full-time and 35,000 were part-time.

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