asked the Minister for Social Welfare in what means tests administered under the aegis of his Department the rateable valuation of land held by the person in question is used as a criterion to decide his or her means.
Ceisteanna—Questions. Oral Answers. - Means Tests Criteria.
30.
Unemployment assistance in the case of smallholders in the congested areas is the only scheme administered by my Department in which the rateable valuation of land held by an applicant is used as a criterion in determining means.
Has the figure for rateable valuation been adjusted upwards in relation to this test in view of the fact that the profitability per £1 of rateable valuation has probably fallen over the past ten years as the economic scale of agricultural production has increased?
If that is so, the figure should be adjusted downwards, not upwards. It has not been adjusted.
31.
asked the Minister for Social Welfare how the profitability of a farm is assessed in relation to the means test for the widow's pension.
The means of a widow in occupation of land are represented by her yearly profits, plus the value of the farm produce consumed at home. In arriving at the profits, due allowance is made for all necessary expenses including the value of family labour but excluding the value of the labour of the widow.