I propose to take Questions Nos. 317 and 318 together.
The Rural Social Scheme (RSS) is an income support initiative to provide part-time employment opportunities for farmers or fishermen who are in receipt of certain social welfare payments and are underemployed in their primary occupation. The work undertaken is primarily to support local service provision via community, voluntary and not-for-profit organisations, provided that this does not displace existing service provision or employment.
In order to retain eligibility for participation on the RSS, participants must continue to be actively farming/fishing and retain entitlement to the underlying qualifying DSP payment. An eligible farmer must also have a valid herd number. Participation is by voluntary self-selection and is dependent on the availability of vacancies in the relevant locality.
Eligible RSS participants are offered contracts of one year’s duration. Contracts are reviewed annually subject to participants continuing to satisfy the underlying criteria for the scheme and subject to local demands.
There are provisions under the scheme for an eligible applicant to use a herd number belonging to a spouse, parent or a sibling provided they satisfy the other conditions of the scheme, including being actively farming. There are no provisions under the scheme for a son to pass his herd number to his father for the purposes of participation on the scheme and there are no plans to change these rules and conditions. This is to ensure that access to limited places is available for those who need it most.
The Deputy will appreciate that there is significant demand for places on the RSS and only people who satisfy the conditions can be considered for participation.
As part of Budget 2017, I announced an additional 500 places on the RSS and I plan on allocating these early in the New Year.
I hope this clarifies the matter for the Deputy.