Lisa Chambers (Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I welcome the Minister of State, Deputy Troy, to the House. I am pleased to share my time this morning with Senator Burke. The issue we are raising is the ongoing campaign by Tús and the rural social scheme to make changes to how they operate. On Monday night, Senator Burke and I attended a meeting in the TF Royal Hotel in Castlebar. It was attended by more than 450 members of schemes from throughout County Mayo, local councillors and Oireachtas Members from the county. The changes announced in recent weeks, in particular the abolition of the six-year rule, have been very much welcomed by scheme operators and those on the schemes. There is still some way to go. We are looking for an expansion of or flexibility in the eligibility criteria. I will give an example. Only one person can access a scheme under a herd number. If a niece or nephew is working with a farmer he or she cannot access the scheme. This does not make sense. We need to get people onto these schemes.

Another key issue is the top-up payment. It may come as a shock to many people that they only receive €22.50 as a top-up to their social welfare payment. By any standard this is a very low level of pay for the work that is done. What has been requested by Tús and the rural social scheme is that the Minister for Social Protection, Deputy Humphreys, engage with and meet them to discuss the outstanding issues and matters to be resolved. This includes increasing the top-up payment, particularly as we head towards budget 2023. There is extra money in the budget package to cater for requests such as this. We ask that the eligibility criteria be expanded and that greater flexibility be allowed in the operation of the schemes.

The Minister of State is from a rural area and knows these schemes are vital. They are part of the fabric of rural Ireland. There are jobs in communities that simply would not get done were it not for these schemes. As the saying goes, we do not know what we have until it is gone. If people were not operating on these schemes many jobs would not get done. They mow the local GAA pitches. They keep them ready for the under-fives teams up to the senior teams. They keep the local community halls open. They look after the graveyards. These are all jobs that local authorities do not have the resources or the manpower and womanpower to do. The local schemes pick up the slack and bridge the gap the State does not fill. It is vital that we ensure the long-term sustainability and viability of the schemes.