Leo Varadkar (Dublin West, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

Anything done to the rural social scheme, in terms of additional money received, would have to have regard to additional money received for a CE placement, for example. Farmers should be not be treated less favourably than people living in the cities, but I do not see why people in cities should be treated less favourably either. Any changes made to the rural social scheme would therefore have to take account of what is being done with CE, Tús and Gateway schemes also. As I stated, this is under active review and I want to have options for the budget. It may not be possible to reverse everything done in 2012 and 2013. However, I would like to have a steer from the committee and others as to which of the measures introduced would be the best to reverse and would make the most difference for farmers on marginal land with small holdings who are struggling to make ends meet.

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