The Irish Farmers Association has a valuable share portfolio, worth £8,836,807 on March 31st last.

Investments include shares in Irish Life Europascope, the Investment Bank of Ireland, AIB Guaranteed Investment Major Equity Portfolio; Eurotrack Guaranteed Equity Fund-Anglo Irish Bank; Irish Life UK Property Fund; Equities; AIB Investment Managers; New Ireland Property Fund; Norwich Union Property Fund; and a very considerable stake in FBD Holdings.

Other special fund investments include deposit accounts, preference shares, ACC-two year investment bond, First Active and other banks.

Starting in 1985, the association built its portfolio steadily. In some years, investments performed better than in others. At the end of March 1998, the valuation of investments, less tax provision, stood at £8,084,529; by the next March that figure had risen to £8,341,204 and the draft figure for the year to last March was £8,435,198.

The draft figures for income from the European Involvement Fund (EIF) for 1999/ 2000 show that some sectors are more efficient than others in collecting the levies.

Meat factories contributed £560,000 and there was a 70 per cent collection efficiency - that is, 70 per cent of the target set for that sector was collected in that year. Creamery milk provided the second highest share of the levies, at £421,000 and there was again a 70 per cent collection efficiency. In third place were the livestock marts, with £400,000 and a 70 per cent collection efficiency.

Sugar beet came next, providing £200,000 at 95 per cent collection efficiency, followed by fish farming (£137,000), liquid milk (£135,000) and grain £130,000. Live exports and horticulture, which contributed £50,000 and £40,000 respectively, only had a 35 per cent collection efficiency.