Billy Kelleher (Cork North Central, Fianna Fail)
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Question 8: To ask the Minister for Social Protection if she will review the criteria for the back to education allowance to ensure that it is sufficiently flexible to accommodate those who need same; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [29143/11]

Joan Burton (Dublin West, Labour)
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The back to education allowance, BTEA, scheme is a second chance education opportunities scheme designed to remove the barriers to participation in second and third level education by enabling eligible people on certain social welfare payments to continue to receive a payment while pursuing an approved full-time education course that leads to a higher qualification than that already held.

The number of participants engaged with BTEA has grown steadily in recent years. In the 2010-11 academic year there were 25,032 participants, an increase of 20.3% on the previous year, which comprised 20,808 participants. The 2009-10 academic year saw a dramatic increase of 79% on the previous year. As of 30 September 2011, there were 18,440 participants availing of the scheme. Final figures for the current academic year are not yet available as claims are still being processed. However, it is expected that participation levels will increase this year. Significant resources have been devoted to BTEA. Some €519 million has been allocated over the lifetime of the National Development Plan 2007-13. The budget for BTEA in 2011 is €198.8 million, which represents over 10% of an increase on 2010 expenditure.

A person wishing to pursue BTEA will have to satisfy certain conditions, such as being a certain age, in receipt of a prescribed social welfare payment for a specified time period, pursuing a full time course of study leading to a recognised qualification in a recognised college and progressing in the level of education held by the client with reference to the national framework of qualifications, among others.

Additional information not given on the floor of the House

In general, a BTEA applicant must be in receipt of a relevant social welfare payment and be at least 21 years of age or 24 years for postgraduate courses, prior to commencing an approved course of study. However, lone parents and persons in receipt of jobseeker's payments can qualify at 18 years of age provided they are out of formal education for at least two years. An age criterion is necessary as BTEA was never intended to be an alternative form of funding for people entering or re-entering the education system.

A waiting period prior to entitlement is considered essential to enable people to engage in job search and consider options available to them. BTEA confers entitlement to income support for an extended period and a waiting period avoids establishing a pull factor to the live register for the purpose of accessing schemes of this nature. The qualifying period for the second level option is three months in recognition of the need for more urgent intervention for this cohort, while the qualifying period for third level courses is nine months having been reduced from 12 months only last year. A person awarded statutory redundancy may access BTEA immediately, provided an entitlement to a relevant social welfare payment is established.

State support for education purposes is grounded on a student progressing from one qualification level to a higher one and BTEA mirrors this fundamental principle which is necessary to ensure displacement does not occur. With effect from 19th July 2010, changes were introduced to the qualifying conditions of the scheme to reflect a deteriorating economic situation which built on other enhancements made to the scheme in recent years. Changes included allowing BTEA in cases where applicants were resuming studies having previously dropped out, had been granted exemptions for previous studies and allowing courses started on a part time basis to be completed full time under BTEA.

The BTEA is an administrative scheme and scheme guidelines are evaluated on a continuous basis to ensure scarce resources remain focused on those with the greatest need who are furthest from the labour market. The BTEA, in conjunction with other employment support schemes, will continue to be monitored on an ongoing basis to ensure it continues to meet its objectives.

Barry Cowen (Laois-Offaly, Fianna Fail)
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I thank the Minister for the detailed response. I acknowledge an increase was given this year by the previous Government. There has been an increase in applications which is to be welcomed and expected, given the predicament in which we find ourselves. It is something we have to promote and improve.

Education is one of the primary ways out of the situation in which those whom we represent find themselves. I ask the Minister to be open to suggestions from all Deputies on gaps in the current scheme. Some people cannot access it through no fault of their own. Some people have returned from abroad and wish to avail of opportunities to further their education in order to make themselves more accessible to the employment market.

There is a grey area in the adjudication system on one moving a grade above what one has already achieved. I ask the Minister to allow us to make suggestions in that regard. I know of a woman who has a primary degree, a higher diploma and a masters degree. She wished to study a further higher diploma to avail of a teaching opportunity but unfortunately could not access a grant. If she wants to pursue further study it will be at great cost to her. In these times such people are the very ones we have to congratulate and help.

Joan Burton (Dublin West, Labour)
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The short answer is that it is a fundamental rule that educational progression is upwards. As the Deputy probably knows, many people availing of the BTEA are returning to second level education because they did not complete it. If somebody has already completed a high level of education such as a masters degree it is difficult to deprive someone in second level who is completing his or her education of funding. A number of Deputies have raised this issue. In the current financial situation it is difficult to find extra resources to allow people to step back in terms of qualification. I am certainly open to a more detailed discussion on this with the committee or to bringing in some people who are qualified to comment on this. The back to education allowance, which we are spending €200 million on, is money that is well worth spending. The best chance of getting a job as the recession starts to lift is to have appropriate qualifications.

Barry Cowen (Laois-Offaly, Fianna Fail)
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I thank the Minister and take on board her suggestion about bringing this to the attention of the relevant committee. We must recognise, and many young people do recognise, that despite the level of qualifications they may have achieved in these straitened times, there is a need to go beyond that. They must be complimented on that and rewarded in whatever way we can. To that end, I expect we will bring this to the attention of the committee and seek ways and means to support everyone who wishes to improve their education, be it at second or third level or beyond even a primary degree.

Richard Boyd Barrett (Dún Laoghaire, People Before Profit Alliance)
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I have had a lot of calls about this. A simple criterion should apply; if someone wants to go back to education or to further their education, he should not be put in a position where he must stay on the dole for another six months before qualifying. It is an extraordinary situation. One young woman approached me recently. She decided not to sign on after having been away because she did not want to be a drain on the State. She was forced to sign on somewhat later and was subsequently refused the back to education allowance because she had not signed on earlier. When she put it to the social welfare office that she had not signed on because she did not want to do so unnecessarily and be a drain on the State, she was told she should have signed on, been a drain on the State and she would then have qualified. It is crazy. If people show the energy and dynamism of wanting to improve their education and not be forced into dependency on social welfare, we must deal with the anomalies that would people in that position and I would urge the Minister to do that.

Aengus Ó Snodaigh (Dublin South Central, Sinn Fein)
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If someone is unemployed in February, most of the third level opportunities start in September. That is a problem because we are then asking those people to spend another 12 months on the dole. Can that nine month figure be reduced to five months or can the criteria be totally changed so a full assessment is done?

Many people have achieved level 8, the highest a person can go, and were previously employed but now need to do another level 8 course but they are not allowed to do an equivalent. They are not going higher, they are changing tack, particularly those who have been in employment for a long time. Those aged 40 or 50, or even younger, who wish to transfer to a totally different career should be able to achieve the equivalent level.

Joan Burton (Dublin West, Labour)
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The points being made are reasonable and understandable. The qualifying period for the second level option is three months. Those who become unemployed in February face a problem but it takes people a while to identify the courses they want to do. It is a principle of the scheme that there should be upward progression, although I recognise that where someone wants to change career, there may be a reason to look at it. We should bear in mind, however, that the previous period for third level courses was 12 months but has now been reduced to nine. I will gladly keep the matter under review but being honest, the financial leeway I have in a budgetary context is limited and I must ensure we keep within spending limits.