CELEX: 51989PC0383
Language: en
Date: 1989-07-27
Title: PROPOSAL FOR A COUNCIL DECISION AMENDING DECISION 88/390/EEC ON SPECIAL SUPPORT FOR THE DEVELOPMENT OF AGRICULTURAL STATISTICS IN IRELAND

12. 9. 89                             Official Journal of the European Communities                            No C 234/3
                                                              II
                                                      (Preparatory Acts)
                                                 COMMISSION
             Proposal for a Council Decision amending Decision 88/390/EEC on special support for the
                                       development of agricultural statistics in Ireland
                                                    (COM(89) 383 final)
                                     (Submitted by the Commission on 24 August 1989)
                                                        (89/C 234/03)
THE COUNCIL OF THE EUROPEAN COMMUNITIES,                          Whereas it is necessary to amend the programme laid
                                                                  down in the Annex to take account of the new
Having regard to the Treaty establishing the European             arrangements;
Economic Community, and in particular Article 43
thereof,                                                          HAS ADOPTED THIS DECISION:
Having regard to the proposal from the Commission,
                                                                                            Article 1
Having regard     to    the  opinion    of   the  European        Decision 8/390/EEC is amended as follows:
Parliament,
                                                                  1. The first sentence of Article 3 (1) is replaced as
Having regard to the opinion of the Economic and                     follows:
Social Committee,                                                    'The organization of the new system of surveys under
                                                                     Article 1 shall take the form of a programme which is
Whereas it is advisable, in order to improve reliability             to begin in 1988 and shall be spread over a period of
and reduce costs, to compile the register of holdings                four years (1988 to 1991)'.
(final phase of the plan set out in Decision 88/390/
                                                                  2. In Article 4 (1), the section 'From 1988 to 1990
EEC (')) at the same time as the 1991 population
                                                                     Ireland shall carry out the programme described in
census is carried out;
                                                                     the Annex. Ireland shall submit each year (year t), in
                                                                     the month of June of the years 1988, 1989, 1990 and
Whereas for these reasons the scheduled duration of the              1991:' is replaced by: 'From 1988 to 1991 Ireland
plan should be extended to 1991 without altering the                 shall carry out the programme described in the
level of the Community's contribution;                               Annex. Ireland shall submit each year (year t), in the
                                                                     month of June of the years 1988 and 1989 and in the
Whereas for administrative reasons the date for                      month of April of the years 1990, 1991 and 1992:'
submission of the progress report and detailed annual
programme to the Commission should be brought                     3. The Annex is replaced by the Annex to this Decision.
forward;
                                                                                            Article 2
(') OJ No L 186, 16. 7. 1988, p. 39.                              This Decision is addressed to Ireland.
 ---pagebreak--- N o C 234/4                             Official J o u r n a l of the E u r o p e a n C o m m u n i t i e s            12. 9. 89
                                                                  ANNEX
                     TIMETABLE FOR IMPLEMENTING T H E DEVELOPMENT PLAN (1988 to 1991)
           Year 1 — 1988
           The following work programme will be pursued in 1988:
           — large scale pilot tests of a new postal survey approach will be undertaken in tandem with the traditional
                enumerator survey system;
           — the results of the pilot tests will be examined to determine optium survey procedures with particular
                attention being paid to questionnaire design, dispatch and receipt of forms, non-response follow-up
               procedures and data processing requirements;
           — direct comparisons will be made between data obtained through use of the new and existing survey
               procedures with a view to establishing linkages which will allow continuity to be maintained in the
               population estimates produced in the interim changeover period;
           — available administrative sources will be examined to determine their statistical potential and, in
               particular, the extent to which they can be incorporated into a comprehensive and up-to-date register
               system for agricultural holdings;
          — the programme for the acquisition of computer and other necessary support equipment (hardware and
               software) will be commenced;
          — work will be started on the development of computer systems etc., for the handling and processing of
               the surveys;
          — training programmes for personnel engaged in the conduct and processing of the surveys will be
               initiated.
          Year 2 — 1989
          The programme of work outlined for 1988 will be continued with the following key features or additions:
          — the changeover to a fully postal system for the annual sample inquiries will be completed and the new
               system thus established will be maintained on an interim basis pending the completion of the overall
               development programme;
          — the June 1989 postal survey will be adapted so as to meet the requirements of the Community surveys
              on the structure of agricultural holdings (Council Regulation (EEC) 571/88);
          — preparations will begin for the field work, to be undertaken in 1991, for the establishment of a new
              comprehensive register of holdings.
          Year 3 — 1990
          The programme undertaken in the preceding two years will be continued in 1990 with an emphasis on the
          following issues:
          — the processing of the June 1989 postal survey returns will be given priority so that the deadline for
              submitting individual holding data to Eurostat, as part of the Eurofarm project, will be met;
          — the advantages of linking the establishment of the register of holdings to the Census of Population in
               1991 will be examined in detail;
          — the computer processing systems etc., will be developed so as to handle the new register and the full
              census of agriculture which will also be held in 1991.
          Year 4 — 1991
          The development programme will be brought to a conclusion in 1991 with the establishment of a
          computer-based register of holdings following an extensive field operation in the second quarter of 1991.
          The new register will be used to launch a permanent series of annual postal surveys in early 1992 which
          will replace the interim series established in 1988/1989. Procedures for maintaining the base register up to
          date, through linkage with administrative records and the use of special surveys, will also be put in place.