Lisa Chambers (Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I thank the Cathaoirleach. Last night I attended a meeting of about 450 people in the TF Royal Hotel and Theatre in Castlebar organised by representatives of RSS and Tús and also attended by SIPTU. As anyone working in public life knows, a meeting of that scale takes a lot of organising so there was an impressive crowd there last night. It took place on foot of the campaign that has been ongoing for many years to improve the operation of Tús and the RSS, the rural social scheme, in terms of how they operate, the eligibility criteria applied, the top-up payment and the flexibility around the schemes, while also acknowledging their huge importance in many rural communities right across the country.

The schemes, as people will know, were originally set up by Deputy Ó Cuív, and have been going strong ever since. There was acknowledgement at the meeting last night that some of the changes made, in particular the removal of the six-year rule, were really welcome and will be of help but that there is still more work to be done. The schemes are finding it very difficult to get people to come onto the schemes and there are vacant places.

The RSS and Tús schemes do everyday jobs like keeping the local football pitch mown and ready for all the sports clubs - be it the under fives all the way up the senior team, keeping the parish hall or the community centre clean, tidy and operational, and keeping the door open and closed at certain times. As the saying goes, "You don't know what you've got until it's gone" and it is only when people like that are not in the community and the work is not being done, that the true value is realised.

It may come as a shock to many people that people on those schemes only get €22.50 as a top-up to their farm assist or social welfare payments. This is certainly value for money embodied and then some. What the RSS and Tús representatives were looking for last night was greater flexibility in how they operate those schemes, so that they can try to get people into those schemes through direct referrals, and also by expanding the eligibility criteria.

For example, only one person can join under each herd number and that prevents a nephew or niece working on the farm, from participating in a local scheme. That makes no sense to me. Greater flexibility will mean these schemes are viable. They started off as a stopgap for job activation, as a way of getting people back into the workforce but also dealing with rural isolation and allowing people to connect with and contribute to their local communities. Very importantly, they also top-up farm incomes by allowing people working on farms and in fishing villages to do some extra hours on a scheme on top of the hours they do on their farm. The schemes are really important for increasing people's income, but also connecting them with their local community. The schemes have evolved since that point in time and they are now part of the very fabric of rural life. Many communities would not get certain jobs done if it was not for these schemes. They do work that the local authorities simply do not have the manpower, womanpower or resources to get done.

I request that the Seanad have a debate at the earliest opportunity to try to get some further engagement with the Minister, Deputy Humphreys, around these outstanding issues that need to be resolved. I appreciate it will probably be in the autumn session. We should also look at how these schemes can be protected into the future and how to ensure their sustainability and viability for the years and decades to come. They are now part and parcel of how business is run in rural areas and are vitally important.

I thank the RSS and Tús representatives who organised that meeting last night. It was a fantastic meeting and they certainly rallied the troops. We were all sent away from the table with orders to try and advance these issues right across both Houses.