Joe McHugh (Donegal North East, Fine Gael)
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212. To ask the Minister for Social Protection if she will provide an update on her Department's consideration of concerns regarding changes to farm assist payments that have been conveyed to her Department in 2013; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [28761/13]

Joan Burton (Dublin West, Labour)
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The farm assist scheme is based on jobseeker’s allowance. It was introduced in 1999 to replace Smallholders Unemployment Assistance’for low income farmers, without the requirement to be available for and genuinely seeking work. Farm assist recipients retain all the advantages of the jobseeker's allowance scheme such as retention of secondary benefits and access to activation programmes. In Budget 2013 two measures were announced, which were implemented in April 2013, which bring the farm assist scheme into closer alignment with the jobseeker's allowance scheme’s treatment of self-employed persons by increasing the amount of means from self-employment, which is assessed against the claimant from 85% to 100%; and by discontinuing the means testing disregards for child dependents of claimants. Farm assist is a flexible payment and any farmer experiencing lower levels of income or cash-flow issues, due for example to bad weather, can ask his/her local social welfare or Intreo office to review the level of means applying to his/her claim. The assessment of means for the purpose of qualifying for farm assist is designed to reflect the actual net income and looks at gross income, less any expenses necessarily incurred, from farming. Income and expenditure figures for the preceding year are generally used as an indicator of the expected position in the following year. However, account is taken of any exceptional circumstances so as to ensure that the assessment accurately reflects the current situation.

I met with a delegation from the Irish Farmers Association on 15 May 2013 to discuss a range of issues, including difficulties arising as a result of fodder shortages and the operation of the farm assist scheme generally. Arising from that meeting officials from the Department have held further discussions with the Irish Farmers Association and further contacts are planned.

Any changes to the scheme would be a matter for Government to consider in a budgetary context.