Michael Creed (Cork North West, Fine Gael)
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169. To ask the Tánaiste and Minister for Social Protection if her Department will facilitate the transfer of a farm assist payment for a farming couple; the issues involved in transferring the payment from one partner to another; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [37353/15]

Joan Burton (Dublin West, Labour)
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The farm assist scheme provides support for farmers on low incomes and is similar to jobseeker’s allowance in terms of the retention of secondary benefits. Farm assist recipients can also access a broad range of activation supports available through the Department’s Intreo offices. The 2015 Revised Estimates for the Department provide for expenditure of almost €89 million on the farm assist scheme which will benefit around 9,000 farmers with around 11,000 dependants each week.

All recipients of farm assist benefitted from the Christmas Bonus in December 2014 and will receive the increased Christmas Bonus this December. All recipients with children are benefiting from the increases in child benefit announced in both Budget 2015 and Budget 2016.

A person may qualify for farm assist if they are a farmer aged between 18 and 66 years and are engaged in farming and satisfy a means test. A person is considered a farmer if they farm land that they own or lease and use for the purpose of husbandry. Husbandry means working the land with the object of taking produce from the land.

If a person farms land for the purpose of husbandry but does not own or lease that land, then they may still qualify as a farmer as long as the land is not part of a larger holding. The land, which includes commonage, must be within the State. A person will not qualify for farm assist if they lease or let all their land to another person.

It is not possible to transfer a farm assist claim between spouses. However, it is possible for a spouse to apply for farm assist in their own right subject to scheme criteria. The applicant should contact her local INTREO office in this regard.

There are no plans to change the current scheme criteria.