Rose Conway-Walsh urges RSS flexibility for Meals on Wheels
Rose Conway-Walsh addressed the Rural Social Scheme and urged urgent flexibility to sustain Meals on Wheels and other vital rural services. She called for changes to scheme eligibility, provision for generators after Storm Owen, and recognition of the social value of RSS, TUS and CE.
Meals on Wheels cases
She highlighted individual cases who raised concerns about the scheme - Lorraine from Clare Morris, Martina and Peter from Lewisburg, and Deirdre from Castle Bar - and pressed for flexibility so Meals on Wheels services can continue to operate in those rural areas.
Generators and storm response
She said communities need generators, noting they were a vital lifeline during Storm Owen, and repeated the request that such practical supports be considered alongside scheme changes.
Eligibility and RSS review
She referenced the ongoing RSS review and the implementation of five recommendations, and backed extending eligibility to people not directly engaged in farming or fishing but connected to rural communities. She also asked officials to revisit the rules around the two people allowed to access the scheme from a herd owner.
Biodiversity and green volunteering
Responding to comments on biodiversity, she supported exploring grant funding for green initiatives and options for volunteers to contribute time to local services, and noted departmental engagement on these opportunities.
Social value and scheme vacancies
She argued that RSS, TUS and CE are more than labour activation schemes and stressed their social employment and community value. She said vacancies across schemes could be filled if greater flexibility is introduced and credited supervisors and implementing bodies for their work.
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I really welcome the opportunity to say a couple of words on this in the Rural Social Scheme. I do welcome the flexibilities that you brought in. I want you to look in particular in relation to Meals on Wheels. Yesterday we had Lorraine from Clare Morris, Martina and Peter from Lewisburg and we had Deirdre from Castle Bar here. And this was one of the issues that were brought up in relation to the Rural Social Scheme and the two people in particular that you would allow two people to use to get onto the scheme from the herd owner. It is vitally important what they are finding of. They cannot continue their Meals and Wheels service without having some flexibility. Now you will know as well even in Storm Owen and by the way they do want generators as well just while I am here. They absolutely have to have generators because they were a vital lifeline during the storm as well. But if you could give them the flexibility on the Rural Social Scheme to meet the needs of these particular rural areas for the vital services that they are providing that would be a very welcome thing and I will work with you in trying to get those done. I thank both deputies, Gahill and Conway Walsh for their remarks. In terms of the review we have fully implemented five recommendations and I actually just had a meeting yesterday with officials in relation to the remaining ones including the eligibility, the implementation of their extending eligibility to people not directly engaged in farming or fishing but who have a connection to a rural community to also the issues about the two people accessing it. I think that is something I have asked them to come back to me on in relation. In relation to Deputy Catan's comments on biodiversity we are committed to exploring opportunities with key stakeholders that will provide options for grant funding for green initiatives and to further explore options for those who wish to volunteer their time to local services. My department is engaging with officials in the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine, also in my other Department of Rural and Community Development as well as local authorities who are really important in this space to allow us to deliver collectively on the recommendations in the RSS review in this space. We will also most importantly continue to engage with the farming and rural development organisations. I want to make this scheme, I am very aware despite the fantastic work of the scheme and of supervisors and so-called implementing bodies there are vacancies in schemes all over the country that I know can be filled if we have the right flexibility in it. One of the things in relation to all of these schemes to RSS, TOUS and CE is I want a greater understanding within my department that they are no longer just labour market activation schemes, they are far greater. Something I would really want to pursue is that these schemes have a social value, a social employment value, but a social value to the participants on the scheme and to providing services to communities such as that referred to by Deputy Conway Walsh that otherwise would not be available. We would be a far poorer country without the work that is done by RSS, by CE and by TUS. Thank you.
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