Dara Calleary (Mayo, Fianna Fail)
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332. To ask the Minister for Social Protection if recipients of social protection payments such as farm assist are liable for universal social charge; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [32041/14]

Joan Burton (Dublin West, Labour)
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The farm assist scheme was introduced in 1999 to replace ‘Smallholders Unemployment Assistance’ for low income farmers. Farm assist is similar to the jobseeker’s allowance scheme and recipients have all the advantages of jobseeker’s allowance such as retention of secondary benefits and access to activation programmes.

Issues in relation to the application of the Universal Social Charge are matters for my colleague the Minister for Finance in the first instance. However, I can confirm that payments made under the farm assist scheme are not liable to the Universal Social Charge.