Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 21 February 2017
37. Deputy Willie Penrose asked the Minister for Social Protection the uptake to date on the new rural social scheme, RSS, places announced in budget 2017; and his plans to amend the terms of the scheme to open it to other areas. [8423/17]
Amharc ar fhreagraCould the Minister provide an update on the uptake in respect of the expanded RSS, which he recently announced, and indicate if there are plans to amend the scheme so as to widen the category of people who might be in a position to participate?
I have allocated an additional 500 places on the RSS as part of the social welfare budget package for 2017. This is the first increase in places since 2006 and will expand the overall number of participants from 2,600 to 3,100. I also announced a €5 increase in the weekly personal rate of payment for RSS participants from March this year.
The 500 additional RSS places have been allocated with effect from 1 February 2017 to the 35 local development companies and Údarás na Gaeltachta, which deliver and administer the scheme on behalf of my Department. The additional places were allocated taking into account a number of factors including the number of places already allocated, the demand for places in particular areas and the numbers of farmers and fishermen in receipt of income support.
As the Deputy will appreciate, the phasing in of these additional places only commenced in the past two weeks but it is worth noting that, by the start of this week, there have already been 11 new entrants to the scheme. The remaining places will be filled as quickly as possible in the weeks and months ahead.
The objective of the RSS is to provide income support for farmers and fishermen, and all participants must be actively engaged in farming or fishing. In allocating the additional places, the Government recognises the benefits the RSS provides for participants and their families, as well as the valuable contribution the scheme is making to the provision of services in communities across Ireland. I have seen this at first hand when visiting schemes around the country, including in Galway and Roscommon.
The question of further additional places will be considered in the context of future budgets.
I thank the Minister for his reply. It is very encouraging to see the increase in the numbers that he has allocated. There could be a requirement for another 500 to 1,000 in those areas. It is less restrictive than some of the other schemes. Could the Minister extend the same broad eligibility criteria into the community employment, CE, schemes? Other community groups are finding it extremely difficult to recruit participants so as to ensure that schemes continue. Significant work they have been doing in communities may suffer and the whole system may collapse if they are unable to operate due to the significant constriction in eligibility. Thankfully, given that unemployment is below 7%, the cohort of people available is smaller. However, the CE schemes are vital for many people from a rehabilitation viewpoint. They give people somewhere to go and an opportunity to contribute to the community and feel the satisfaction and vindication of being in a position to work for their communities.
The RSS is very different from the CE schemes. People on CE schemes are supposed to be looking for regular employment. People on the RSS already have regular employment as farmers or fishermen. Given that they cannot derive an adequate income from their regular employment, RSS is an additional top up to the income they make from farming or fishing. They are very different schemes for very different purposes.
Many CE supervisors are having difficulty filling their schemes and I am considering a number of measures to widen the pool of people from whom they can choose. There are people timed out due to a rule in 2000, and I am considering lifting it. Although I cannot afford to do it now, in the next budget I would like to increase the amount of additional money a person on a CE scheme receives. It is only approximately €20, and some people, particularly in rural areas, are almost worse off as a result of participating.
Yes, worse off.
More lone parents and people with disabilities would be more likely to take up a CE scheme if they received €30, €40 or €50. That is my opening pitch for the budget.
That is extremely positive and encouraging. The Minister has hit the nail on the head. Particularly in rural areas people may have to travel five miles to the schemes and €20 is eaten up in a day or two. The Minister must examine the three-year and five-year rules. A person who is aged 60 or 61 may not be able to return to full-time employment and this would be an opportunity for such people to see out their working lives. The Department would not be losing anything, given that these people would otherwise be in receipt of jobseeker's allowance or disability benefit. The Minister is bang on. Hopefully, unemployment rates will continue to decrease to allow the Minister to reinvest in this important area. Communities, individuals and families are gaining, as are groups such as GAA and hockey clubs. There is also great satisfaction for the individual participants and many of them are learning and progressing to work. However, there is a cohort of people for whom it is very essential.
I have an open mind on it and the issue of older workers arises frequently in this context. It is also an issue for younger people. I always get Tús and CE mixed up on the minimum age criteria. The minimum age is 25 for one of the schemes and 21 for the other. We have young people who have spent a year on JobPath and have not got a job. It would make more sense for them to move to CE after this than to return to JobPath. I am considering this as a possible change. Perhaps this is not true, but I am sometimes told in some parts of the country that people who would have had small businesses fixing locks, doing odd jobs around houses or cutting grass have lost some of their business to RSS and CE. I have no numbers to quantify the extent to which this is a real problem. However, if we massively expanded these schemes, we would have to bear it in mind.
