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

This is within the remit of the Minister for Employment Affairs and Social Protection, Deputy Regina Doherty. There is an anomaly in the system of farm assist and social welfare payments. I refer to farmers who have set up a partnership. The declining health, because of one disease or another, and resultant incapacity of one of the partners to sign off can block the other partner from getting farm assist. Low-income farmers are mentioned in A Programme for a Partnership Government but there should be something done in the regulations within the Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection or the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine. These people comply with all of the regulations on income and everything else but it is a partnership and the herd number is in both of their names. The Minister might look at it for me.

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