Charlie McConalogue (Donegal, Fianna Fail)
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108. To ask the Minister for Social Protection the way in which the proposed six year limit for future RSS participants will be applied to existing participants; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [37912/16]

Leo Varadkar (Dublin West, Fine Gael)
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As the Deputy will be fully aware RSS provides opportunities for farmers and fishermen and women who are currently in receipt of specified social welfare payments to work to provide certain services of benefit to rural communities.

As part of the social welfare budget package for 2017, I announced an increase of €5 a week in the personal rate of payment for rural social scheme (RSS) participants from March 2017. I also announced an additional 500 places on the scheme to be rolled out in 2017. This will increase the overall number of places to 3,100. My Department intends allocating these places as early as possible in 2017, taking into account a number of factors. These include the number of places already allocated, the demand for places in particular areas, work opportunities available and the numbers of farmers and fishermen and women in receipt of income support.

Eligibility for participation on the scheme will continue to remain limited to those in receipt of certain specified social welfare payments and all participants must be also actively engaged in farming or fishing. In future, all new entrants to the RSS will have to be over 25 years of age and, in addition, a 6 year overall participation limit will be introduced on the scheme in 2017. This will ensure that there will be a throughput of places available and that younger people will have an opportunity to explore other training or education options in the first instance before participating on a long term-work programme. In this context, the Deputy should note that almost 50% of the current participants have been on the RSS for over 10 years.

Existing RSS participants will remain on the scheme as long as they continue to satisfy the eligibility conditions of the scheme and the new conditions outlined above will only apply to new RSS entrants.