Farm & Fishing Supports

 

SWCA 2005

Chapter 11

Farm Assist (ss. 213-218)

213.

Interpretation.

(1)In this Chapter and in Schedule 3 –

“farming” means farming farm land including commonage, which –
(a)is owned, and used for the purposes of husbandry,
(b)is leased, and used for the purposes of husbandry, or
(c)does not form part of a larger holding and is used for the purposes of husbandry, by the claimant
;

“farmer” means a person engaged in farming;

“husbandry” means the working of the land with the object of extracting the traditional produce of the land;

“weekly means” means, subject to Rule 1(1) of Part 2 of Schedule 3, the yearly means divided by 52 and the amount so calculated shall be rounded up to the nearest €1 where it is a multiple of 50 cent but not also a multiple of €1 and shall be rounded to the nearest €1 where it is not a multiple of 50 cent or €1.

(2)For the purposes of this Chapter, means shall be calculated in accordance with the Rules contained in Part 2 of Schedule 3.

214.

Entitlement to allowance.

(1)Subject to this Act and to regulations made under this Act, an allowance (in this Act referred to as “farm assist”) shall be payable to a farmer where –

(a)he or she has attained the age of 18 years and is under pensionable age, and

(b)his or her weekly means, subject to subsection (2), do not exceed the amount of farm assist (including any increases of farm assist) that would be payable to the farmer under this Chapter if he or she had no means.

(2)Where the spouse, civil partner or cohabitant of a claimant for farm assist is not the claimant’s qualified adult, or is a spouse in respect of whom an increase is payable by virtue of regulations made under section 297, the means of the claimant shall be taken to be one-half the means.

(2)Subject to subsection (3), where the spouse of a claimant for farm assist is a spouse referred to in any of subparagraphs (iii) to (vii) of section 2(2) (a), the means of the claimant shall be taken to be one-half the means.

(3)Notwithstanding subsection (2), where, in the 4 weeks immediately before the commencement of section 9 of the Social Welfare and Pensions Act 2007 a person was entitled to or in receipt of farm assist and the spouse of the claimant for farm assist is not the claimant’s qualified adult, or is a spouse in respect of whom an increase is payable by virtue of regulations made under section 297, the means of the claimant shall be taken to be one-half the means or the means calculated in accordance with subsection (2), whichever is the more favourable.

(4)Where the means of a claimant are calculated at any time in accordance with subsection (3) and are subsequently calculated in accordance with subsection (2), subsection (3) shall no longer apply to the claimant.

(5)Where for any period of not less than 4 consecutive weeks after the commencement of section 9 of the Social Welfare and Pensions Act 2007, a claimant whose means were calculated in accordance with subsection (3) ceases to be entitled to or in receipt of farm assist, subsection (2) shall apply to any subsequent claims.

(6)Where the spouse, civil partner or cohabitant of a claimant for farm assist is a spouse, civil partner or cohabitant referred to in Part 6, and is in receipt of a payment under Part 6, the means of the claimant shall be taken to be one-half the means.

215.

Rate of allowance (including increases for qualified adult and qualified children).

(1)Subject to this Chapter, the rate (in this Chapter referred to as “the scheduled rate”) of farm assist shall be the weekly rate set out in column (2) at reference 11 in Part 1 of Schedule 4, increased by –

(a)the amount set out in column (3) of that Part opposite that reference for any period during which the claimant or beneficiary has a qualified adult, subject to the restriction that, except where regulations otherwise provide, the claimant or beneficiary shall not be entitled for the same period to an increase of the allowance under this subparagraph in respect of more than one person, and

(b)the appropriate amount set out –

(i)in column (4) of that Part opposite that reference in respect of each qualified child who has not attained the age of 12 years who normally resides with the claimant or beneficiary, and

(ii)in column (5) of that Part opposite that reference in respect of each qualified child who has attained the age of 12 years who normally resides with the claimant or beneficiary.

(2)Farm assist shall be payable –

(a)where the weekly means of the claimant or beneficiary are less than €1, at the scheduled rate,

(b)where the weekly means are equal to €1, at the scheduled rate reduced by €1, and

(c)where the weekly means exceed €1, at the scheduled rate, reduced by €1 for each amount (if any) of €1 by which those weekly means exceed €1 but, where the weekly means of the claimant or beneficiary are equal to or exceed the scheduled rate, no farm assist shall be payable.

216.

Amount of increases payable in respect of qualified child in certain cases.

Any increase of farm assist payable under section 215(1) in respect of a qualified child who normally resides with the claimant or beneficiary and with the spouse of the claimant or beneficiary shall be payable at the rate of one-half of the appropriate amount in any case where the spouse, civil partner or cohabitant of the claimant or beneficiary

(a)is not a qualified adult, or

(b)is a spouse, civil partner or cohabitant referred to in section 214(2),

and section 215(1) shall be read and have effect accordingly.

217.

Total amount payable to a couple.

(1)Where one of a couple is entitled to illness benefit, jobseeker’s benefit, jobseeker’s benefit (self-employed), injury benefit, disablement pension, State pension (contributory), State pension (non-contributory), State pension (transition) or invalidity pension and the other is entitled to farm assist, the total of the amount payable to them by way of that benefit or pension and farm assist (in this subsection referred to as “the relevant amount”) shall not exceed the total amount of benefit or pension, as the case may be, (including any increases thereof, where appropriate), or the total amount of farm assist (including any increases thereof, where appropriate), whichever is the greater (in this subsection referred to as “the greater amount”) that would be payable if only one of the couple were in receipt of benefit, pension or farm assist, as the case may be, and, if the relevant amount would but for this subsection exceed the greater amount, the amount of farm assist payable to the spouse, civil partner or cohabitant who is entitled to such farm assist shall be reduced by the amount of the excess.

(2)Where one of a couple is entitled to jobseeker’s allowance, pre-retirement allowance or farm assist and the other is entitled to farm assist, the total amount payable to them under this Act shall not exceed the amount which would be payable if only one of them was entitled to be paid jobseeker’s allowance, pre-retirement allowance or farm assist, as the case may be, (including any increases thereof, where appropriate), and each of them shall be entitled to be paid one-half of the amount which would be payable to him or her if only one of the couple were in receipt of the assistance or allowance.

(3)In this section “couple” means –
(a)a married couple who are living together,
(b)both civil partners of a civil partnership, who are living together, or
(c)both cohabitants.

218.

Disqualifications.

(1)A farmer shall be disqualified for receiving farm assist while he or she is –

(a)employed during any week under a scheme provided by the Minister and known as Community Employment,

(b)employed during any week under a scheme provided by the Minister and known as the Rural Social Scheme,

(c)participating in a scheme administered by the Minister and known as Back To Work Allowance, or

(d)participating in a scheme administered by the Minister and known as Part-Time Job Incentive.

(e)[deleted]

(2)A farmer shall not be entitled to receive farm assist while attending a course of study, other than in the circumstances and subject to the conditions and for the periods that may be prescribed.

(3)In subsections (2) and (4) “academic year”, “a course of study” and “institution of education” have the meanings given by section 148(2).

(4)In this section, a farmer shall be regarded, subject to regulations made under subsection (2), as attending a course of study –

(a)for 3 months immediately following the completion or the leaving by that person of second level education or the completion of the Leaving Certificate Examination of the Department of Education and Science (whichever is the later),

(b)for the duration of an academic year, or

(c)for the period immediately following the completion of one academic year, other than the final academic year of a course of study, up to the beginning of the following academic year.