Written answers

Tuesday, 23 September 2014

Department of Social Protection

Farm Assist Scheme Payments

Photo of Michael Healy-RaeMichael Healy-Rae (Kerry South, Independent)
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146. To ask the Minister for Social Protection if she will restore income and child disregards to pre-budget 2013 levels under farm assist with means test of the current income position; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [35927/14]

Photo of Joan BurtonJoan Burton (Dublin West, Labour)
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This year the Department will spend approximately €91.6 million on the farm assist scheme and it is expected that an average of 9,900 individuals will be in receipt of this payment each week. The farm assist scheme is based on jobseeker’s allowance and recipients retain all the advantages of the jobseeker’s allowance scheme such as retention of secondary benefits and access to activation programmes.

Recent changes to the scheme have brought it into closer alignment with the jobseeker’s allowance scheme’s treatment of self-employed persons.

Farm assist is a flexible payment and any farmer experiencing lower levels of income or cash-flow issues can ask his/her local social welfare/Intreo office to review the level of means applying to their claim.

The assessment of means for the purpose of qualifying for farm assist is designed to reflect the actual net income 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.

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

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