Rural Social Scheme

South Tipperary Development Company has 37 placements on the Rural Social Scheme, 35 participant employees are currently placed. These participants provide services to over 31 communities within South Tipperary area.

Introduction

The Rural Social Scheme (RSS) aim is to provide a supplementary income support for farmers and fisherpersons aged 25 years or over, who are in receipt of long-term social welfare payments. It is based on a 19.5 hours per week (flexible) to ensure participation does not affect your farming activities.

By participating on the Rural Social Scheme, local communities’ benefit from your skills and talents by providing additional resources to maintain and improve local amenities and facilities. You can also experience opportunities to improve existing or develop new skills.

The Type of work carried out by RSS participants includes:

Maintaining and enhancing various walking routes (that is, waymarked ways, agreed walks) and bog roads.
Energy conservation work for older people and those at risk of poverty
Village and countryside enhancement projects
Social care and care of older people, community care for both pre-school and after-school groups
Environmental maintenance work – maintenance and care-taking of community and sporting facilities
Projects relating to not-for-profit cultural and heritage centres
Community administration or clerical work
Any other appropriate community based project identified during the course of the scheme

Criteria for Eligibility

To qualify you must provide a copy of your application for EU Single Payment Scheme for current year. Including a valid active herd number.
Farming a minimum of 1 Hectare of land.
Be in receipt of a qualifying means-tested social Welfare payment such as: Farm Assist, Jobseekers Allowance, Jobseekers Transitional Payment, Disability Allowance, One-Parent Family Payment, Widow(ers) Pension, both Contributory and Non-Contributory or be under 66 and a Qualified Adult Dependant of a recipient of the Non-Contributory Old Age Pension.

Should you be deemed eligible to qualify but you yourself do not wish to participate on the RSS, your spouse, Son, Daughter, Brother, or Sister of an active farmer can take the available place on the RSS Scheme.

How many hours’ work is involved?

Participants work 19.5 hours per week. These hours are based on a farmer schedule. This is to ensure participation on the scheme does not affect your farming activities.

How long does the Scheme last?

If you get a place on the Scheme, you will be offered a contract for an initial period that will be from your start date up to the following 31st March. You may be considered for a further term following the initial contract if you continue to meet all the criteria for the Scheme.