Pat Breen (Clare, Fine Gael)
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To ask the Minister for Social Protection if a person (details supplied) in County Clare will be facilitated on a community employment scheme; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [17094/13]

Joan Burton (Dublin West, Labour)
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The Rural Social Scheme provides income support for farmers and those engaged in fishing who have an entitlement to specified social welfare payments. Participants are engaged for 19½ hours per week to provide certain services of benefit to rural communities. The scheme currently provides work opportunities for around 2,600 participants and 130 supervisory staff.

To qualify for participation, an individual must be actively farming and in receipt of either farm assist, jobseekers allowance, jobseekers benefit (if previously on CE or RSS within the last 12 months), disability allowance, one-parent family payment, widow/er’s pension (contributory or non-contributory), or be under 66 and have an increase for a qualified adult paid on his/her spouse’s old-age non-contributory pension.

The Department’s records indicate that the individual concerned does not currently fall into any of the above categories. If, on completion of his CE engagement, he becomes eligible for jobseekers benefit and provided he is actively farming and has access to a valid herd number, he should contact his local implementing body to establish whether there are any vacancies on the RSS in County Clare. The relevant implementing body is Clare Local Development Company – tel: 065 6866800.