How can I pass selected row to commandLink inside dataTable or ui:repeat?

I'm using Primefaces in a JSF 2 application. I have a <p:dataTable>, and instead of selecting rows, I want the user to be able to directly execute various actions on individual rows. For that, I have several <p:commandLink>s in the last column.

My problem: how can I pass a row ID to the action started by the command link so that I know which row to act on? I tried using an <f:attribute>:

<p:dataTable value="#{bean.items}" var="item">
    ...
    <p:column>
        <p:commandLink actionListener="#{bean.insert}" value="insert">
            <f:attribute name="id" value="#{item.id}" />
        </p:commandLink>
    </p:column>
</p:dataTable>

But it always yields 0 - apparently the row variable f is not available when the attribute is rendered (it works when I use a fixed value).

Anyone has an alternative solution?