Vol. 545 No. 1
150 Mr. McGuinness asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and Rural Development if a person (details supplied) in County Kilkenny is in receipt of the full entitlement under the early retirement scheme; and if the case will be re-assessed to determine if this person is due further benefits. [29607/01]
The person named entered the scheme of early retirement from farming in joint management with her husband. The EU regulation under which the scheme was introduced requires that the pension payable under the scheme be reduced by the amount of any national retirement pension to which the applicant, or in joint management arrangements the applicant's spouse or partner, becomes entitled.
In this particular case both the person named and her husband have qualified for non-contributory old age pensions and the combined value of these has been deducted from the early retirement pension. As the gross amount of early retirement pension is fixed, any increases in the rate of old age pension result in a reduction in the balance of the early retirement pension that can be paid to them. The person named has received her full entitlement to date under the early retirement scheme.
