Additional Rural Social Scheme Places Announced
Details of where the 500 extra places on the Rural Social Scheme (RSS), secured by IFA in Budget 2017, will be allocated have been announced by Minister for Social Protection, Leo Varadkar.
IFA has campaigned for improvements to Farm Assist and increased Rural Social Scheme places for some time and this formed a major part of our Pre-Budget Submission and lobbying campaign.
Participants in RSS must be actively farming or fishing with an underlying entitlement to a qualifying Department of Social Protection payment, such as Farm Assist, in order to be eligible. As well as their Farm Assist/social protection payment, participants receive 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. The scheme is administered on a local level by Implementing Bodies on behalf of the Department of Social Protection so if you wish to apply, you should contact your local Development Company for any further information, or for an application form.
Details of additional places
| Implementing Body | Current places | Additional places | Revised allocation | |
| Donegal Local Development Co Ltd | 76 | 46 | 122 | |
| Galway Rural Development Co Ltd | 156 | 32 | 188 | |
| Mayo Nth East Leader Part Co Teo | 221 | 30 | 251 | |
| Clare Local Dev Co Ltd | 117 | 26 | 143 | |
| South West Mayo Development Co Ltd | 191 | 25 | 216 | |
| Monaghan Integrated Development Ltd | 40 | 22 | 62 | |
| South Kerry Development Part CLG | 138 | 21 | 159 | |
| Leitrim Integrated Dev Co Ltd | 100 | 21 | 121 | |
| Roscommon Integrated Dev Co Ltd | 149 | 18 | 167 | |
| Breffni Integrated Ltd, Cavan | 80 | 17 | 97 | |
| Co Sligo Leader Partnership Company | 124 | 14 | 138 | |
| Nth & East Kerry Leader Part Teo | 89 | 13 | 102 | |
| East Cork Area Development | 8 | 12 | 20 | |
| Inishowen Rural Development Ltd | 30 | 12 | 42 | |
| IRD Duhallow Ltd | 58 | 11 | 69 | |
| West Cork Development Part Ltd | 68 | 11 | 79 | |
| South Tipperary Development Co | 26 | 11 | 37 | |
| Wexford Local Development Ltd | 39 | 11 | 50 | |
| Longford Community Resources | 55 | 10 | 65 | |
| Forum Connemara Ltd | 14 | 10 | 24 | |
| Westmeath Community Development Ltd | 33 | 7 | 40 | |
| North Tipperary Leader Partnership | 37 | 7 | 44 | |
| Ballyhoura Development Limited | 47 | 6 | 53 | |
| County Kilkenny Leader Partnership | 19 | 5 | 24 | |
| Offaly Integrated Local Dev Co Ltd | 52 | 5 | 57 | |
| Comhar na nOileán Teo. | 20 | 5 | 25 | |
| West Limerick Resources | 36 | 4 | 40 | |
| Carlow Co Development Part Ltd | 18 | 4 | 22 | |
| Laois Community & Enterprise Dev Co | 25 | 4 | 29 | |
| Louth Community Resources | 10 | 4 | 14 | |
| Meath Community Rural & Social Dev | 16 | 4 | 20 | |
| Waterford Leader Partnership Ltd | 12 | 3 | 15 | |
| Avondhu Blackwater Partnership Ltd | 17 | 3 | 20 | |
| Co Wicklow Community Partnership | 20 | 3 | 23 | |
| County Kildare Leader Partnership | 22 | 3 | 25 | |
| Total | 2,600 | 500 | 3,100 |
