Michael Moynihan (Cork North West, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

We have had various discussions and what is coming across very powerfully from members and Social Farming Ireland is the inflexibility in the schemes.

I believe in social farming. I farm on a social basis at the weekend to take myself back to reality. I have two kids who would be on the farm morning, noon and night if they could, no matter what they are doing. There is a significant benefit to be had from it and I have seen many people benefit. Every member raised the disability allowance and the inflexibility of the scheme. Everybody is trying to advance the system. I have spoken with people from different services in the past couple of weeks and with the Department of Social Protection. A rural social scheme was developed 20 years ago for people on low-income farms that did not receive farm assist so that they could get jobs with local development companies and with communities. That did significant good for the women on the farms. If a farmer had a low income, a member of the family could participate in the rural social scheme. It transformed lives. I could name people who had been working in the home who got out to work. It transformed their lives. The flexibility in that scheme allowed that to happen.

We need to develop a disability social scheme or some new mechanism. We have had rigid systems for the past number of years. We understand that systems will be rigid, but, in the end, many farmers and communities are wondering what has happened with the social farming model. Mr. McManus's point about the benefit is powerful. It has enormous potential. We have to consider budgets and accessibility. Flexibility was raised repeatedly by both us and the witnesses. How do we ensure flexibility in the system? One person involved in social farming and community development asked about looking at the rural social scheme. That related to farming, but why can we not examine that scheme and tailor it for people with disabilities who can continue to work and derive both a therapeutic value and a sense of commitment to society from their work?

Deputy Murnane O'Connor has joined us. We are under serious time constraints.