Robert O'Donoghue (Dublin Fingal West, Labour)
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2236. To ask the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine the number of people engaged in the food production industry, broken down by county and age demographics, in tabular form; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [44110/25]

Martin Heydon (Kildare South, Fine Gael)
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The CSO Labour Force Survey (LFS) estimates that 169,300 people worked in the Agri-Food sector as a main occupation in 2024, representing 6.1% of total employment in Ireland. Of these, 108,450 (64%) worked in "Agriculture Forestry, and Fishing", and 56,850 (36%) worked in the "Manufacture of Food and Beverages".

50,225 of the people employed in the Manufacture of Food and Beverages worked in food, while 6,625 worked in beverages. Breakdowns by region and county are not currently available.

The CSO Farm Structure Survey 2023 estimates indicate that 299,725 people worked on 133,174 farms across Ireland in 2023. This differs from the LFS as it includes all people working on farms, including those for whom it is not their main occupation. For the purposes of calculating the Agricultural Labour Force in 2023, 127,976 farm holdings of a defined threshold were included. Of these, 67,362 of farm holders defined farm work as their sole full-time occupation, 28,886 described farm work as a major occupation, and 31,728 as a subsidiary occupation. Excluding farm holders, 171,749 people worked on farms. Of these, 132,278 were spouses and other family members, and 39,471 were non-family workers. This figure includes both part-time and full-time workers.

The table below shows the mean age of farm holder by region and county, and the number of people working on farms – both family and non-family workers – by region.