Farmers have been paying out almost €1,000 more per hectare for much sought-after agricultural land than last year, it emerged today.
The average price paid for a hectare was €14,665 (€5,935 per acre) during the first three months of this year compared to €13,601 in the same period last year.
Economists at the Central Statistics Office (CSO) said the sums paid for the land should be examined in light of the fact a very small amount of agricultural land comes onto the market each year.
During 2003 agricultural land sales accounted for less than half a single per cent of the total land farmed nationally.
Mr Kevin Hodnett of the CSO said: "In the mid east region the land prices would appear to be consistently higher than in other regions."
Statistics available for agricultural land sales across Europe during 2001 showed farmers in the State were paying top prices - similar to Northern Ireland, Italy and Denmark.
The price paid in the first three months was almost 8 per cent more than the same time last year and the average land sale was for nine hectares, the statistics revealed.
Solicitors transferring land ownership recorded 215 sales during the first quarter of 2003, while there were only 107 for the same period this year.
"There have been more land sales in 2003 than the previous two years," Mr Hodnett said.
Mr Hodnett said the price of land has been creeping up over the last few years apart from a few dips.
Meanwhile, the number of people employed by private firms in the construction industry has increased.
A survey carried out by the CSO has shown there were almost 3 per cent more employees during June compared to the same month last year.
The sample survey carried out among 1,000 firms revealed the overall increase in employment was almost 2 per cent for May compared with last year.