Michael Healy-Rae (Kerry South, Independent)
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53. To ask the Minister for Social Protection the position regarding farm assist in respect of a person (details supplied) in County Kerry who has been waiting for an outcome on the matter since September 2014. [27128/15]

Joan Burton (Dublin West, Labour)
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I am advised by the Social Welfare Appeals Office that the person concerned applied for farm assist on 4th September 2014. His means for this claim were based on his assessed income during 2013. He appealed the means assessment of his farm income and an oral hearing was held on 11th March 2015. At the hearing, he indicated that he was particularly concerned that his expenditure for the lease of his farm had not been allowed for in the assessment. As he had not previously raised this expenditure with the Department in the course of the means assessment process, the Appeals Officer asked him to provide evidence of payments made during 2013 in respect of the farm lease. This evidence was outstanding on the date that the Appeals Officer, who had been assigned the case, retired.

I am advised that the file has been assigned to another Appeals Officer. I understand that although the person concerned has, in the meantime, provided a copy of a lease agreement dated 18 March 2014, no evidence has been provided to date to show that payments in respect of the lease were actually made in either 2013 or 2014. I understand that the appeals office will be writing to the person concerned shortly requesting that he provide evidence of any payments actually made in respect of the lease in order that the Appeals Officer can consider if these can be taken into account.

In the meantime the person concerned is quite entitled to request a review of his current farm assist payment, which at this stage would be based on a means test of his income in 2014.

The Social Welfare Appeals Office functions independently of the Minister for Social Protection and of the Department and is responsible for determining appeals against decisions on social welfare entitlements.