Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 27 April 2004
219 Mr. P. McGrath asked the Minister for Agriculture and Food if, with regard to the recent changes in the farm retirement scheme, the Minister will confirm if the present income ceiling for farmers by which those pensioners are prevented from benefiting from State pensions will be removed. [11239/04]
View answerIt is a requirement of the EU regulations governing the early retirement from farming schemes that any national retirement pension to which a scheme participant, and his or her spouse or partner in a joint management situation, becomes entitled must be deducted from the early retirement pension. This also means that any increases in national retirement pensions granted in the annual Budget Statement must be deducted from the early retirement pension.
As this requirement derives from EU Council regulations, it has been a feature of the early retirement from farming schemes since the start of the first scheme in 1994. There has been no recent change in the situation.
The assessment of eligibility for national retirement or State pensions, including those that are means tested, is the responsibility of the Department of Social and Family Affairs.
220 Mr. P. McGrath asked the Minister for Agriculture and Food if his attention has been drawn to the fact that many farmers who availed of the early retirement from farming scheme are now not in receipt of any payment from his Department due to the fact that they are in receipt of contributory social welfare pension, yet they are still required to fulfil conditions attaching to the farm retirement scheme; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [11240/04]
View answerMy Department will consider sympathetically all requests from participants who wish to withdraw from the scheme because the value of their old age pension now exceeds the value of their early retirement pension, provided five years' participation has been completed in the scheme and there is no outstanding debt owing to the Department. The retired farmer remains bound in all cases by his or her undertaking to cease commercial farming definitively; this undertaking can be waived only if all pension payments are refunded.
