Mr. John Joe Fitzgerald:

Go raibh maith agat, a Chathaoirligh. Thanks for the invitation to come here today. In making this submission, the focus is primarily on farm assist and the rural social scheme, RSS. However, we are willing to discuss details relating to other social welfare schemes if relevant to the overall discussion. In the programme for Government, there was a commitment given to conduct a review of the means test for farm assist, which will also have an impact on the RSS. Clearly, this process is ongoing and it is positive that we are here today to outline our proposals relating to this.

Farm assist is a critical support to farm families across the country, especially in counties Donegal, Mayo, Galway, Kerry and Cork, where almost 60% of participants live. In an analysis of the figures, we see that 70% of participants are over 50 and that participation has fallen from 11,246 in 2011 with a budget of €113.72 million to 4,400 farmers in 2023 with a budget of €49.4 million. While many will point to the falling participation levels as a positive and an indication that farmers have improved their circumstances either at farm gate level or through off-farm employment, we should be open to other possibilities. Over time many participants may have reached retirement age and no longer qualify for farm assist while an increasing level of emigration from rural areas among younger people may also be deflating numbers. Another area we need to consider is the means test and how it relates to participants in the scheme and those who may have considered joining.

With high participation levels in hill areas and in counties where there is a significant level of land designations, we need to recognise the impact these designations are having on agricultural output. For farmers operating on designated lands, that is, special areas of conservation and special protection areas, their options with regard to farming activity and output is severely constrained by the designations. This constraint extends beyond farming, with options such as wind farms and other capital projects a no-go on these lands. Both at national and European level, these lands are seen as critical to addressing biodiversity decline but, unfortunately, the supports for farmers have been gradually reduced and we are now at a point where there is no direct support to farmers with these lands. This is despite the continuous talk of the need for a just transition. As farmers on these lands struggle to cope with the ever-increasing demands around protecting and enhancing these critical habitats, it is essential we find a way to support them.

One option to provide this support is recognition of the constraints outlined through the farm assist means test. On this basis, we recommend a radical change to how payments received through the Common Agricultural Policy, CAP, are assessed. These recommendations include a full disregard on all payments for all environmental schemes, which will include the agri-climate rural environment scheme, eco-scheme and European Innovative Partnerships; for farmers who have more than 10% of their lands designated or up to 30 ha, there should be a full disregard for all payments under the complementary redistributive income support for sustainability, CRISS; and for farmers with 40% or more of their lands designated there should be an additional disregard for the first €5,000 of their payment under the basic income support for sustainability, BISS. The rationale for disregards on the CRISS and BISS payments is that farmers with these designated lands are subject to additional conditionality under the statutory management requirements SMR 3 and SMR 4 and good agricultural and environmental conditions GAEC 2 and GAEC 9 of the new CAP programme.

We also recommend that, for a spouse’s income, the disregard, which currently stands at €20 per day, should be increased to €100 per day. In relation to savings, we recommend a substantial increase in the disregards from the current amount of €20,000 up to €50,000. Finally, we recommend the piloting of a universal basic income model for up to 500 farmers currently on farm assist. These places would be on an opt-in basis, with farmers guaranteed the maximum farm assist payment, including allowances, for three years. These payments would be taxable and, after three years, farmers would have the option to revert to the farm assist or seek a place on the RSS.

Similar to farm assist, RSS is a critical scheme for farmers and our rural communities. A 2023 review of the scheme by RSS supervisors detailed how it not only addresses its original objectives but has produced far-reaching financial and social benefits that have enhanced the fabric of life in our rural towns and villages. The review also points to a cost-benefit analysis undertaken in 2009 that demonstrates exceptional value for money, with €2.89 of benefits produced for every €1 spent. The original concept of the RSS was to ensure farmers could continue farming while making a valuable contribution through their work to the local community. When it comes to accessing the scheme, this is a concept that must be supported.

On that basis, we recommend that a farmer who is eligible for RSS, subject to a periodic means test, should automatically be entitled to full personal rate, IQA and child dependant allowance, irrespective of means assessed under the means test. This is the way the scheme operated successfully from 2003 up until 2012, when the rules were changed, leaving very little incentive, particularly for those with a dependent adult or dependent children, to go on the scheme as they only benefit from 19.5 hours of work by a little over €1 per hour. Given the RSS has low numbers and the number of participants on farm assist is also small, all applicants who are eligible to go on the scheme should be accommodated.

We deem our proposals to be practical and realistic given the challenges and uncertainties farm families are facing. These schemes must be made more accessible to alleviate any unnecessary stress when farmers are already struggling to support their families.

Go raibh míle maith agat, a Chathaoirligh. We look forward to members' questions.