Tom Fleming (Kerry South, Independent)
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92. To ask the Minister for Social Protection if she will provide, in tabular form and by county, the number of recipients of the rural social ccheme granted and refused from 1 January 2014 to date in 2015; the average waiting time for decisions on appeals; the number of appeals referred for independent oral appeal; and the percentage of these approved and refused. [14495/15]

Kevin Humphreys (Dublin South East, Labour)
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The rural social scheme (RSS) provides income support for low income 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 Department has engaged 35 local development companies and Údarás na Gaeltachta, known as implementing bodies, to deliver the scheme.

The scheme currently provides work opportunities for 2,600 participants and 130 supervisory staff. Those interested in participating apply directly to their local implementing body which have overall responsibility for recruiting participants and supervisors, in line with the terms and conditions of the scheme. The Department has no role in the recruitment process.

The table below outlines the allocation of participants and supervisors to each implementing body.