Niall Collins (Limerick County, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I acknowledge the excellent work on the rural social scheme and the contribution this scheme and its participants make to rural communities throughout the country. Currently, there are 2,873 participants and 133 supervisors employed on the scheme. The Department of Social Protection runs the scheme which has a total budget of €51.9 million in 2022. The scheme is delivered through a network of 36 local development companies and Údarás na Gaeltachta.

RSS projects deliver a range of services which are vital to the social and economic well-being of many rural areas. Services include the development, regeneration and enhancement of community spaces, environmental maintenance, early years and after-school supports, recycling and repair of equipment, and the staffing of cultural and heritage centres. Many of these have a social inclusion dimension.

The Minister for Rural and Community Development, Deputy Humphreys, and the Minister for State, Deputy Joe O'Brien, have been hugely impressed by the range and value of the work undertaken on RSS projects, some of which they have had the opportunity to visit and witness at first-hand. Over the past year, the Minister and Minister of State announced reforms to the RSS to support recruitment and retention of staff by removing the six-year time limit on the scheme. This means all participants can now stay on the RSS until they reach the pension age. These changes benefit up to 1,400 participants.

The Department of Social Protection has recently reviewed the means assessment disregards for farm assist, the main qualifying payment for the rural social scheme.As part of the review process, the range of agri-environmental schemes that qualify for income disregards to qualify for the farm assist payment has been greatly expanded. These measures were implemented in June 2022 and should increase the number of people who may qualify for farm assist payments and, by extension, can take up a place on a rural social scheme. Recent positive employment trends in reducing numbers claiming farm assist payments have had a direct effect on the number of people interested and eligible to participate in the rural social scheme. This is why there are still some vacancies on schemes even with the important reforms introduced by the Government this year.

The Department will undertake a review of the scheme. The review will begin before the end of this year and cover all aspects of the scheme including its social dimension. It will be overseen by a steering group which will have a wide representation including representatives of the schemes. It is hoped the first meeting of the steering group will be held this year. This review will cover issues such as: the sustainability of services delivered by the scheme; the role the programme can play in changing our society; and potential for the scheme to deal with issues such as climate change and biodiversity. It further demonstrates the support of the Government for the scheme.