The income of each employee on "full-time" farms is between 75 per cent and 85 per cent of the average industrial wage, according to research by Teagasc, the Agriculture and Food Development Authority.
The findings were presented by Teagasc at the fourth National Rural Development Forum in Portumna, Co Galway, when the Minister for Community, Rural and Gaeltacht Affairs, Mr Ó Cuív, also announced the extension of Clár-designated areas - areas which have been specially selected by the Government for priority attention because of continuous population decline.
A review of household incomes on farms from the mid-1980s to 2000 shows that total disposable income fares more favourably than non-farming households in rural areas by €100 a week. However, this only relates to farms where members of the family have jobs elsewhere, according to Mr Packie Commins, Teagasc's head of rural development research.
Mr Commins said 48 per cent of earned income on farms was now from non-farm sources, while 44 per cent came from farming. This compared to 30 per cent from non-farm sources in 1987. There was also a lower incidence of taxation, which may be due to the fact that non-farm work is in the low-wage category.
An analysis of 15 years from 1985 showed the trend in incomes from full-time farms and from industry was similar in terms of increase, but farming was starting from a much lower base.
In spite of the skills associated with full-time farming, the income of each employee was between 75 per cent and 85 per cent of the average industrial wage now, he said. The findings appeared to support the case made by the Irish Farmers Association in its "tractorcade" protest last week.
Mr Ó Cuív told the forum that Clár designation had been extended to 189 district electoral divisions in 18 counties, mainly due to the addition of 129 divisions in Co Waterford. This was based on the 2002 census figures, he said. Combined with increases in 14 other counties, this represented a total population of 361,901.
The criterion for selection is a decrease of population of approximately 50 per cent since 1926, but an area of Cooley in Co Louth was included in the original selection in 2001 due to the impact of the foot-and-mouth crisis.
Clár provides funding for minor roads and small water schemes and involves reprioritisation of national secondary road projects.
Mr Ó Cuív also confirmed that the Government had extended the original two-year commitment to Clár by a further three years to 2006. He said it had given hope to people living in areas where they were beginning to despair of getting the most basic infrastructure.
The Clár programme was compatible with the overall thrust of the National Spatial Strategy, Mr Finian Matthews of the Department of the Environment and Local Government told the conference.
Targeted measures like this addressed the remoteness or structural disadvantage experienced by many rural areas, he said.
Traditional rural-based sectors of employment in agriculture, forestry and fishing would continue to be the primary base for strong and diversified rural economies, he added. However, the mix and concentration in any one of these sectors would vary according to the potential of different places.
Mr Matthews identified the key issues as:
Securing agriculture especially where it is a strong and viable;
Diversification of rural employment options and stabilising population through resource-based development in sectors such as forestry, fishing, marine and natural resources;
Tourism development through quality and market-responsive products, enhanced access and co-ordinated promotion of tourism, which offers a range of complementary visitor experiences;
Strengthening towns and villages so that they attain a threshold in terms of labour supply, skills and infrastructure capable of sustaining employment in enterprise and services.
