Oct 14th, 2009

Minister must ensure Farms Assist Means are based on current year

The Chairperson of the ICMSA’s Taxation Committee, Mr. James Hennessy, has called on Minister Mary Hanafin to ensure all Social Welfare Officers are taking this years means into account when assessing eligibility for Farm Assist.

He stated that in May of this year the Department of Social and Family Affairs confirmed to ICMSA that the Social Welfare Inspectors were informed that earnings in the previous 12 months may not be representative of expected earnings in the current and coming year, given the collapse in farm incomes. Therefore the current income position of the farm family should form the basis for establishing entitlement to Farm Assist.

Prior to this, when assessing the means for Farm Assist the income and expenditure figures for the proceeding year were normally used as an indicator to determine the expected income in the following year.

However, Mr. Hennessy stated that farmers are experiencing difficulty with Social Welfare Inspectors in many counties now refusing to accept the current year figures. It is imperative the Minister ensures that all her staff act in accordance with commitments provided by her office and accept this years figures when assessing eligibility for Farm Assist. Mr. Hennessy concluded by pointing out that assessment of means is open to appeal to the independent Social Welfare Appeals office.

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