Charlie McConalogue (Donegal, Fianna Fail)
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82. To ask the Minister for Social Protection when the changes announced to farm assist in budget 2017 will take effect; the date on which the 15% income disregard announced in budget 2017 will apply to all current farm assist recipients; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [2581/17]

Leo Varadkar (Dublin West, Fine Gael)
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The farm assist scheme provides support for farmers on low incomes and recipients retain the advantages of the jobseeker’s allowance scheme such as the retention of secondary benefits and access to activation programmes. The 2017 Revised Estimates for my Department provide for expenditure of almost €83 million on the farm assist scheme.

I am very pleased that, with the agreement of my colleagues in Government, Budget 2017 introduced new measures in relation to the assessment of means for farm assist. These include that 70% of farm income will now be assessed as means, down from 100% being assessed as means (which is a 30% income disregard) and an additional annual means disregard of €254 for each of the first two children and €381 for the third and subsequent children. These measures fully reverse the cuts to the farm assist means test that were introduced in Budgets 2012 and 2013.

All existing farm assist recipients currently assessed with means will have their payments adjusted so that the new measures contained in Budget 2017 will come into effect from the 8th March implementation date with relevant payments changing on the 15th March. (Farm Assist is paid weekly in arrears). It is estimated that the measure will cost €8.5 million in 2017.

Farm Assist recipients also benefitted from the following measures announced in Budget 2017 - the €5 per week increase in the weekly rates of payment; the 85% Christmas Bonus and Farm Assist recipients are eligible to avail of the 500 additional places on the Rural Social Scheme.