Bernard Durkan (Kildare North, Fine Gael)
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Question 165: To ask the Minister for Agriculture and Food the number of full-time farmers reliant on farm income; the number of part-time farmers relying on off-farm income; the extent to which these numbers have fluctuated in the past ten years and are likely to alter in the future; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [17625/05]

Mary Coughlan (Donegal South West, Fianna Fail)
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According to the CSO, the number of full-time farmers, that is, farmers whose sole occupation is farming, declined from 106,000 in 1993 to 76,200 in 2003. In the same period, the number of part-time farmers or farmers who have another either major or subsidiary occupation increased from 52,900 to 58,900.

The agri-vision 2015 committee indicated in its report that it believed the trend to part-time farming, using a somewhat different definition from the CSO, will continue. The ongoing trend towards part-time farming reflects a combination of factors, including the increased availability of off-farm employment. Many smaller farmers are finding that combining farming with off-farm employment is an effective way to ensure their viability on the land. At the same time, full-time farmers are looking to the new flexibility offered to them under decoupling to develop and intensify their commercial farm enterprises.