John Brassil (Kerry, Fianna Fail)
Link to this: Individually | In context | Oireachtas source

88. To ask the Minister for Social Protection the reason the cost of providing broadband is not an allowable expense to a person under the farm assist payment scheme; if he will review this with a view to changing the condition; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [15194/16]

Leo Varadkar (Dublin West, Fine Gael)
Link to this: Individually | In context | Oireachtas source

Farm Assist is one of a range of means social assistance schemes operated by my Department. The means test for these schemes takes account of the income and assets of both the claimant and his or her spouse/partner, including the earnings and assets of the spouse. No account is taken of the value of the family home.

Where a claimant or their spouse has income from self-employment, including farming, the income is taken to be the gross income less expenses necessarily incurred in carrying out the business or activity. There is no exhaustive list of all expenses allowed in self-employed cases, since expenses vary with the nature of the self-employment; however, expenses can include, among other things, the cost of materials, depreciation of machinery, insurance, electricity and telephone costs. It should be noted that deductions in respect of any expenses are limited to the proportion of such costs necessarily incurred in operating the business. Similar arrangements would apply to broadband expenses associated with carrying out a business and the amount of expenses allowed would be limited to the proportion of such costs necessarily incurred in operating the business and this may vary on a case by case basis.