Recruitment – Rural Social Scheme

The Rural Social Scheme (RSS) is aimed at low-income farmers and fishermen/women.

The Rural Social Scheme in Roscommon deliver a much-needed community service throughout the County.  This is demonstrated by the community groups that seek assistance to carry out worthwhile projects year after year. Roscommon LEADER Partnerships RSS team of 150 participants and 7 Supervisors provide support to a number of local community organisations in a range of areas throughout the county.  

Participants on the RSS work 19.5 hours per week and the scheme is administered in a farmer/fisherperson friendly manner to ensure participation on the scheme does not affect your farming/fishing activities.

To QUALIFY for the RSS you must be getting a social welfare payment. In return, people participating in the RSS provide services that benefit rural communities. For example:

• Maintaining and enhancing various walking routes
• 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 pre-school and after-school groups
• Environmental maintenance work
• Projects relating to not-for-profit cultural and heritage centres
• Community administration or clerical work
• Any other appropriate community based project identified during the scheme

Qualifying Family Members:

A child/sibling of a herd number owner can apply as long as they can certify that they are resident and/or working on the farm and they are in receipt of one of the qualifying social welfare payments. 

If a farmer is eligible but do not wish to participate on the RSS, their dependent spouse, civil partner or cohabitant can take the available place. 

Alternatively, if their spouse, civil partner or cohabitant is getting one of the qualifying social welfare payments and is actively farming, they can use your herd number to qualify for the scheme. 

Income benefits for Participants:

The RSS generates additional benefits in terms of the future income security as it allows participants to make a PRSI contribution giving them possible entitlements for welfare payments in the future, including state pensions. 

You are not liable for the Universal Social Charge (USC) on your RSS payment. 

How to Join the RSS:

If interested in joining the scheme please contact Roscommon LEADER Partnership – call 090 6630252 or email amanda@ridc.ie for an Expression of Interest Form or download from the link below.  

Expression of Interest Form

To be eligible to participate, an individual must be in receipt of one of the following payments from DSP: 

• Farm Assist/Fish Assist 
• Jobseeker’s Allowance
• Disability Allowance 
• One Parent/Widowers Payment  
• Adult dependents of non-contributory old age pensioners under 66 years of age etc.  

Applicants must also have access to an active herd number and farming at least 1 hectare of land in the state. To prove this they must provide a copy of the application for their Basic Income Support for Sustainability Scheme (BISS) for the current year. If an applicant is actively farming and has not applied for the Basic Income Support for Sustainability Scheme (BISS), they should contact us for advice.