asked the Minister for Social Welfare the number of recipients of smallholders assistance in each county whose means are assessed on a notional basis; and the total money paid in such cases in each county.

The approximate number of smallholders in each county receiving unemployment assistance whose means are assessed on the notional system is as follows:

Is the Minister aware that the notional system of assessment was introduced in 1966 for those smallholders whose holdings were totally uneconomic? Is he aware also that there are still many farmers on uneconomic holdings and can he tell us whether the Government have plans to ensure that some notional system of assessment will be introduced to replace the PLV system?

There will be brought in for those people the self-assessment system. They will be assessed on actual profits from their smallholdings and that is the more equitable and satisfactory way of dealing with any self-employed group.

Along the west coast farmers are living on smallholdings which consist mainly of bog and rock. I expect that the Minister witnessed that kind of situation recently while in Donegal. Should such people not be given a supplementary income to ensure that they can remain on the land and rear their families without having to be subjected to a means test on a regular basis?

There must be some control and some form of assessment in the matter of handing out State funds. It would not be right to write off totally any question of control or assessment. Regardless of what system we devise so far as supplementary income is concerned, the Deputy can be assured that the people he is referring to will be included.

The question is a statistical one. It is not one on which to hang an argument for a new social welfare policy. The numbers that have been given can be studied and questions then tabled if such should arise.

Would the Minister accept that the notional system was introduced so that the people concerned might be sustained and subsidised and in that way enabled to remain on their smallholdings? Can the Minister give an assurance that any changes that would be made in this area will represent an incentive and not a disincentive to the smallholders? The original intention of giving them the dole was to make it possible for them to remain on their holdings.

Whatever method of assessment is devised should represent some form of incentive for the improvement of smallholdings.