The Department of Social Protection is to undertake a review of the rural social scheme (RSS) which provides financial support to low income farmers before the end of the year.
Niall Collins, Minister of State at the Department of Further and Higher Education, Research, Innovation and Science, told the Seanad today (Wednesday, November 16) that the review will cover issues such as the sustainability of services delivered by the scheme.
“It will be overseen by a steering group which will have a wide representation including representatives of the schemes. It is hoped the first meeting of the steering group will be held this year.”
The Minister said there are currently 2,873 participants and 133 supervisors employed on the scheme which has a total budget of €51.9 million in 2022.
Minister Collins was responding to a commencement matter raised in the Seanad today by Senator Victor Boyhan.
Senator Boyhan said the RSS provides services that benefit rural communities and that these services are “critically important”.
He said the aim should be to expand the scheme to farmers and fishers on the “financial margins” in order for them to supplement their incomes by working in local communities.
Collins said that the Department of Social Protection had recently reviewed the means assessment disregards for farm assist – which is the main qualifying payment for the rural social scheme.
“As part of the review process, the range of agri-environmental schemes that qualify for income disregards to qualify for the farm assist payment has been greatly expanded.”
He said this should result in an increase in the numbers of people who can qualify for farm assist payments and could take up a place on a rural social scheme.
“Recent positive employment trends in reducing numbers claiming farm assist payments have had a direct effect on the number of people interested and eligible to participate in the rural social scheme.”
The minister said that the removal of the previous six year rule – which meant that farmers had to leave the scheme once their six-year term was over – was making an “important difference to the operation of the rural social scheme”.
“The review of the scheme will commence shortly and will be inclusive and wide-ranging in nature to ensure all relevant views are included,” he added.