A dispute between the Department of Agriculture and the Irish Farmers Association over how farm incomes should be interpreted has spilled over into the negotiations on a new partnership deal.
This follows the statement in the Dáil by the Minister for Agriculture, Mr Walsh, that in 2001, family farm income on full-time farms was over €5,000 more than the average industrial wage. He said the average family farm income on full-time farms was €30,959 net compared with the average industrial wage last year of €25,507 gross.
The IFA claims the average family farm income was only 54 per cent of average industrial earnings last year and is likely to be €14,200 this year, while the average industrial earnings this year will be €26,370
Relations between the Department and the largest farm organisation in the State have been poor since the IFA decided it would run its own pro-Nice Treaty campaign.
The IFA failed to turn up to a photocall at Cork Airport which involved all the farm organisations with the Taoiseach, Mr Ahern, who was reported to have been "put out" by the non-appearance of the delegation. Now it has complained in submissions to the partnership talks that the consultative process with the Department, "is less than satisfactory".
"Policy announcements with a serious impact on individual farmer's livelihoods have been made with inadequate or no prior consultation. Policy positions in some cases have been adopted when it should be clear to the Department that these positions were not in the spirit of a partnership approach," said the submission.
The IFA said it did not agree with recent attempts by the Department of Agriculture "to effectively change the National Farm Survey from a farm management survey to an annual household income survey of farmers".