Éamon Ó Cuív (Galway West, Fianna Fail)
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59. To ask the Minister for Social Protection the reason that there is no disregard of €2,539.48 allowed for money received from agri-environmental schemes such as REPS-AEOS in the assessment of disability allowance; the reason there are different rules for the means assessment for schemes such as jobseeker's allowance, farm assist and State pension non-contributory, compared to disability allowance in this regard; her plans to change the law to correct this anomaly; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [1061/15]

Joan Burton (Dublin West, Labour)
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Where a farmer is in receipt of a payment from the agri-environment schemes known as the Rural Environment Protection Scheme (REPS) and AEOS, social welfare legislation provides, for the purpose of certain social welfare schemes, for the disregard of the first €2,539.48 of such payments and the further disregard of half of the remaining balance. The relevant schemes are farm assist, jobseeker’s allowance, state pension non-contributory and pre-retirement allowance. The latter scheme was closed to new entrants from 2007. These arrangements do not apply to other means tested schemes such as one-parent family payment and disability allowance.

A person who is engaged in farming is eligible to apply for farm assist including farmers receiving a REPS/AEOS payment. This scheme was established in 1999 to provide income support for low income farmers and replaced the support previously available known as “smallholders” unemployment assistance. The Department operates a number of other social assistance schemes which provide for various contingencies, such as unemployment, disability, old age, widowhood and single parenthood. As a result of being based on these diverse contingencies, the operation of these schemes necessarily varies in relation to the conditionality, eligibility criteria and the means test that apply. It is considered that the current arrangements relating to the treatment of REPS/AEOS payments to farmers are appropriate given that a dedicated means-tested scheme is available for farmers generally. Accordingly, there are currently no plans to introduce a disregard for monies received from agri-environment schemes in the means assessment for disability allowance or any scheme to which is does not currently apply.