Vol. 536 No. 5
158 Mr. Naughten asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and Rural Development the reason FÁS community employment scheme payments are considered off-farm income under the terms of the farm retirement scheme; his views on whether this interpretation will discriminate against many small farmers; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [14932/01]
Under the early retirement 2000 scheme launched in November last, certain income criteria apply for both the transferor and the transferee. The transferor must derive at least 25% of his or her income from farming, and the total income from farming and non-farming sources must not exceed 200 income units, except in the case of a definitive transfer to a family member, where there is no upper limit. The transferee must prove his or her viability by having an income of at least 50 income units of which 20 income units are derived from farming. An upper non-farm income limit of 100 income units applies to the transferee. In cash terms, an income unit is £200.
The definition of non-farm income under the scheme includes FÁS community employment scheme payments as well as a number of social welfare payments. The primary purpose of this is to enable potential transferees who may not be in remunerative employment, or may be engaged in training courses with a view to improving their employment prospects, to achieve the minimum level of income that determines viability. Rather than being discriminatory, therefore, this definition is intended to make the scheme more widely available by increasing the number of potential transferees.
