Press release
Minister Doherty announces details of 250 extra Rural Social Scheme places
From Department of Social Protection
Published on
Last updated on
From Department of Social Protection
Published on
Last updated on
Today (Friday, 23rd March 2018) Minister for Employment Affairs and Social Protection Regina Doherty T.D. announced details of where the 250 extra places on the Rural Social Scheme (RSS), which were part of the last Budget, will be allocated. The new places will provide support for an additional 250 low-income farmers and fishermen to carry out valuable community-based work, thereby helping to deliver on a Programme for Government commitment to rural Ireland.
Announcing the increase, Minister Doherty said: "At the outset, I would first like to reiterate my support, and that of the Government, for the Rural Social Scheme. In recognition of the valuable work undertaken in rural communities under the RSS, I am very pleased to announce that an additional 250 places will be made available under the Scheme. Overall this represents an increase of over 28% in the places available under the RSS in the past two years – from 2,600 to 3,350.
“Since the RSS was launched in 2004, it has delivered a range of positive benefits for both participants and their local communities. The RSS has become a key aspect of community action in many rural areas and is popular with both participants and local sponsors/community groups. While communities benefit from the skills and talents of local farmers and fishermen, participants also have the opportunity to improve existing skills, or develop new skills, while performing valuable work in their local communities.”
The Minister added: “The RSS has established itself at the centre of rural life in communities throughout the country. Significantly, it also supports participants to remain involved in farming or fishing in their local areas. It shows the Government’s ongoing commitment to supporting and sustaining rural Ireland.”
The work carried out under the Scheme helps to support countless sports clubs, community services and rural facilities. It is also an important source of extra income to farmers and fishermen who may be working in agriculture or fishing on a part-time basis and who have a low income. It also gives them an opportunity to develop new skills. Participants provide 19.5 hours a week on a local rural or community project in a return for a top-up on their social welfare payments.
The Scheme is especially important in the west, north-west and south of Ireland where there are a higher representation of farm assist recipients. Participants work on the following type of projects:
The extra places will strengthen the Rural Social Scheme by supporting more farming and fishing families on low incomes. The scheme is delivered at a local level by 36 Implementing Bodies (IBs) - 35 Local Development Companies and Údarás na Gaeltachta in the Gaeltacht areas.
A request for expressions of interest for the additional RSS places was issued to all 36 Implementing Bodies. Replies were received from 26 of the IBs plus a request from one Local Development Company who had not previously administered the RSS. Ten companies have not sought any additional places. Although the request for additional places was significantly oversubscribed, all companies who requested places will be given additional places. This is the first time places will be available to low income farmers and fishermen in County Dublin, with an allocation of six places to Fingal Leader Partnership.
Participants must be actively farming or fishing with an underlying entitlement to a qualifying DEASP payment, such as Farm Assist, in order to be eligible. Most participants receive a weekly payment of €198 a week* (equal to the maximum personal rate on Farm Assist) and an additional €22.50 top-up per week under the Rural Social Scheme.
Participation is voluntary and is dependent on the availability of vacancies in the relevant locality. As this scheme is administered on a local level by Implementing Bodies on behalf of the Department, a person should, in all instances, contact their local Implementing Body for any further information, or for an application form.
Table 1 - Breakdown of the additional 250 RSS places by County
| County | No of RSS Places |
| Carlow | 3 |
| Cavan | 8 |
| Clare | 12 |
| Cork | 12 |
| Donegal | 25 |
| Dublin | 6 |
| Galway | 47 |
| Kerry | 8 |
| Kildare | 2 |
| Leitrim | 10 |
| Limerick | 20 |
| Louth | 2 |
| Mayo | 44 |
| Meath | 2 |
| Monaghan | 10 |
| Offaly | 10 |
| Roscommon | 10 |
| Sligo | 10 |
| Westmeath | 2 |
| Wicklow | 2 |
| Other - Islands | 5 |
| Total | 250 |
Table 2- Additional 250 RSS places by Implementing Body
| Rural Social Scheme Implementing Body | Current RSS Participants Quota | Proposed additional RSS places | Revised 2017 RSS allocation |
| Galway Rural Development Co Ltd 188 | 30 | 218 | |
| South West Mayo Development Co Ltd | 216 | 24 | 240 |
| Donegal Local Development Co Ltd | 122 | 20 | 142 |
| Údarás na Gaeltachta ** | 497 | 15 | 512 |
| Mayo Nth East Leader Part Co Teo | 251 | 15 | 266 |
| Forum Connemara Ltd | 24 | 12 | 36 |
| Clare Local Dev Co Ltd | 143 | 12 | 155 |
| Ballyhoura Development Limited | 53 | 10 | 63 |
| Co Sligo Leader Partnership Company | 138 | 10 | 148 |
| West Limerick Resources | 40 | 10 | 50 |
| Leitrim Integrated Dev Co Ltd | 121 | 10 | 131 |
| Monaghan Integrated Development Ltd | 62 | 10 | 72 |
| Offaly Integrated Local Dev Co Ltd | 57 | 10 | 67 |
| Roscommon Integrated Dev Co Ltd | 167 | 10 | 177 |
| Breffni Integrated Ltd | 97 | 8 | 105 |
| South Kerry Development Part Ltd | 159 | 8 | 167 |
| Fingal Leader Partnership 0 | 6 | 6 | |
| IRD Duhallow Ltd | 69 | 5 | 74 |
| Comhar na nOileán Teo | 25 | 5 | 30 |
| West Cork Development Part Ltd | 79 | 5 | 84 |
| Carlow Co Development Part Ltd | 22 | 3 | 25 |
| Westmeath Community Development Ltd | 40 | 2 | 42 |
| Avondhu Blackwater Partnership Ltd | 20 | 2 | 22 |
| Cill Dara ar Aghaidh Teo | 25 | 2 | 27 |
| Co Wicklow Community Partnerhip | 23 | 2 | 25 |
| Louth Community Resources | 14 | 2 | 16 |
| Meath Community Rural & Social Dev | 20 | 2 | 22 |
| East Cork Area Development | 20 | 0 | 20 |
| Inishowen Rural Development Ltd | 42 | 0 | 42 |
| Longford Community Resources | 65 | 0 | 65 |
| Waterford Leader Partnership Ltd | 15 | 0 | 15 |
| County Kilkenny Leader Partnership | 24 | 0 | 24 |
| Laois Community & Enterprise Dev Co | 29 | 0 | 29 |
| Nth & East Kerry Leader Part Teo | 102 | 0 | 102 |
| North Tipperary Leader Partnership | 44 | 0 | 44 |
| South Tipperary Development Co | 37 | 0 | 37 |
| Wexford Local Development Ltd | 50 | 0 | 50 |
| Total | 3100 | 250 | 3350 |
**The 15 extra places to Údarás na Gaeltachta is broken down as follows: Mayo 5,Donegal 5, Galway 5.
ENDS
Note:
The 2018 Welfare package will deliver a minimum increase of €5 in the personal rate of all weekly payments on employment programmes such as Rural Social scheme. A €2 increase for each qualified dependent child will also be applied – the first such increase since 2010. Dependent adults will receive a proportionate increase. These measures take effect from the week commencing 26th March 2018.