Pearse Doherty (Donegal South West, Sinn Fein)
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Question 230: To ask the Minister for Social Protection her plan to include or introduce a disregard for the new agri-environment options scheme payment for farmers applying for farm assist. [11182/11]

Joan Burton (Dublin West, Labour)
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The farm assist scheme is a means-tested payment broadly similar to the jobseeker's allowance scheme. It features a more generous means test, which takes account of the specific nature of farming and, unlike jobseeker's allowance, farmers claiming this payment do not need to be available for work outside of the farm in order to qualify.

The agri environment options scheme (AEOS) is an agri-environment scheme and is the successor to the rural environment protection scheme (REPS). While both schemes give farmers a five year agri- environment contract, AEOS provides a more targeted approach to protecting the environment and is specifically aimed at addressing the key challenges of biodiversity, water quality and climate change. The Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine relaunched the AEOS on 6 April, 2011. Funding of €25m per annum has been allocated to the scheme, with the maximum payment per farmer set at €4,000 per annum.

AEOS payments are not disregarded for means testing purposes under the farm assist scheme. Any changes to the farm assist scheme would have to be considered in a budgetary context.