Éamon Ó Cuív (Galway West, Fianna Fail)
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1. To ask the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine the increase in employment in the agriculture sector in the past year; the sectors of agriculture in which this increase in employment took place; the increase or decrease in employment in each NUTS 2 region; the reason for this increase in employment; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [13991/14]

Éamon Ó Cuív (Galway West, Fianna Fail)
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We have continually heard Government spokespersons talk about an increase of 60,000 in employment in the past year. To achieve this, one would have needed an increase in direct employment in agriculture and fisheries of nearly 30,000. Can the Minister tell me where this employment was created and the regions in which it was created? What type of employment are we talking about?

Simon Coveney (Cork South Central, Fine Gael)
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The CSO's quarterly national household survey, QNHS, shows that there was an annual increase in employment of 3.3% or 61,000 in the year to the fourth quarter of 2013, bringing total employment to just over 1.9 million. Employment increased in ten of the 14 economic sectors over the year and fell in four.

The increase recorded in agriculture, forestry and fishing was up 29% or 26,800, giving a total of 116,800. The CSO has advised that due to necessary changes in the sampling framework introduced incrementally to reflect the 2011 census of population, the first fully valid year-on-year comparisons for the agriculture sector will only be available from Quarter 4 of 2014.

The CSO does not publish figures for the sub-sectors within agriculture, but QNHS data for Quarter 4 of 2013 shows that the agrifood sector makes a significant contribution to employment at national and regional levels. Table 1 sets out the employment figures for the total agrifood sector, including primary agriculture, forestry and fishing, as well as food, beverage and wood processing, and calculates its share of total employment by NUTS 2 and NUTS 3 region. This shows that while the agrifood sector accounted for over 9% of total employment in the State as a whole, it accounted for over 14% of employment in the Border, midlands and western, BMW, region. These figures underline the importance of the sector at a regional level, as well as the opportunities for further development that the implementation of Food Harvest 2020 will bring.

I am not sure whether Deputy Ó Cuív has a copy of the reply, but we break it down into the Border, midlands, west, Dublin, mid-east, mid-west, south-east and south-west regions in terms of the percentage of people employed in agriculture as regards total employment in those regions. The highest percentages are 15.3% in the midlands, 15.2% in the south-east, 14.3% in the Border region and 14.1% in the west. Obviously, the lowest percentage is in Dublin at 2%.

Éamon Ó Cuív (Galway West, Fianna Fail)
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The Minister might clarify whether the term "agriculture and fisheries" means agriculture and fisheries and not the wider agrifood sector.

Simon Coveney (Cork South Central, Fine Gael)
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Correct.

Éamon Ó Cuív (Galway West, Fianna Fail)
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Therefore, obfuscating the growth in the agrifood sector does not fool me. Is the Minister really trying to tell me that anybody believes the BMW region outperformed the southern and eastern region in employment growth by two to one? Is he really telling me that anybody believes the south east was the best-performing region in terms of employment creation in this State, with an increase in employment of 8.4% last year, followed by the Border region, with an increase in employment of 8%, and the midlands region, with an increase of 5%, and that Dublin languished in fourth place with 2.7%? Is he telling me he really believes that 60,000 new jobs were created, or is he telling me that the CSO said that for reasons it pointed out, and to which the Minister has alluded, the figures actually show that employment creation in this State in the past year was half of the figure consistently quoted by Government Ministers?

Seán Barrett (Dún Laoghaire, Ceann Comhairle)
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The Deputy is over time. Will he please adhere to the rulings of the Chair?

Simon Coveney (Cork South Central, Fine Gael)
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I do not think the Deputy's assertion is true. I suggest that he speak to the CSO about it, which is what we have done. The CSO is standing over its figure of an extra 61,000 jobs in the economy. What it says is that we should look at the figure in individual sectors with some caution when the make-up of the sample changes somewhat. The overall figure is clear. When one has a sample as broad as those the CSO takes, and as households fill out forms, there are clearly 61,000 more people in work than there were 12 months ago. What the CSO is saying is that we should look with some caution at the make-up of those 61,000 jobs sector by sector, because the sample structure has changed. I can only work with the figures the CSO gives me. It is true to say that the sample to which we referred at the start was the primary agriculture, fishing and forestry sector and the story of the food industry and its performance over the past 12 months and the past three years also includes figures that come under manufacturing and processing, because clearly jobs have been created in companies that are expanding because of the growth in food output in Ireland.

Éamon Ó Cuív (Galway West, Fianna Fail)
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When one reads the report, one can see it says there was an increase, which was the figure quoted by the Minister, of 26,800 in employment in agriculture and fisheries.

Extraordinarily, however, there was no increase in income tax revenue or the number of farmers claiming the single farm payment. Are those concerned all farm labourers or deckhands? Let us get real: the Minister and I know one of the main reasons is that those with a small farm, PAYE job and on jobseeker's benefit could no longer claim the benefit on becoming a full-time farmer. To claim these as new jobs in the economy is nonsense. Is the Minister standing by the claim that there has been a net increase of 30,000 in employment in agriculture and fisheries in the State in the past year?

Simon Coveney (Cork South Central, Fine Gael)
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I am answerable for many things, but I am not answerable for the CSO.

Éamon Ó Cuív (Galway West, Fianna Fail)
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The Minister is the one quoting the figures without-----

Simon Coveney (Cork South Central, Fine Gael)
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The CSO is an independent body that compiles and publishes the numbers. They are the numbers we use. If I am asked how many jobs have been created in the economy in the past 12 months, I must go on the numbers of the CSO. They are the numbers I quoted and it is perfectly reasonable for me to do so. The CSO is entirely independent of my Department and the Government.

Éamon Ó Cuív (Galway West, Fianna Fail)
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Did the Minister quote the caveat?

Simon Coveney (Cork South Central, Fine Gael)
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Of course I have done it.

Seán Barrett (Dún Laoghaire, Ceann Comhairle)
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We are over time. There is another Deputy waiting to ask a question.

Simon Coveney (Cork South Central, Fine Gael)
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I have done it today. The Deputy should not try to undermine what clearly is growth in this sector. Of course, there will not be an increase in the number claiming the single farm payment because the number of farms in the country, approximately 130,000, is not going to change overnight.

Éamon Ó Cuív (Galway West, Fianna Fail)
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If so, from where does the figure of 30,000 come?

Simon Coveney (Cork South Central, Fine Gael)
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However, if there are more people deriving income from these farms and in full-time employment on these farms because income thereon has increased, that is not a bad thing.

Seán Barrett (Dún Laoghaire, Ceann Comhairle)
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Thirty seconds are allowed for the Deputy introducing the question. Two minutes are allowed for the Minister to respond, while one minute is allowed for each supplementary question. Therefore, six minutes are allowed in total. There are other Deputies whom we want to allow to contribute.