Mary Hanafin (Dún Laoghaire, Fianna Fail)

Since its introduction, the underlying objective of the back to education allowance scheme has been to equip people on social welfare payments with qualifications that will enable them to obtain employment in the labour market. It is a second chance educational opportunities scheme for people on welfare payments who wish to participate in full-time education and who would not otherwise be able to do so. The allowance replaces the applicant's existing social welfare income and, in addition, an annual €500 cost of education allowance is payable. Also, participants may continue to receive any secondary benefits to which they have been entitled.

In general, an applicant must be in receipt of a relevant social welfare payment for six months if pursuing a second level course or 12 months if pursuing a third level course. The scheme has been modified in recent times. In order to support activation of unemployed people, the qualifying period for the third level option is reduced to nine months for persons participating in the national employment action plan process. People who are awarded statutory redundancy may access the scheme immediately, provided an entitlement to a relevant social welfare payment is established prior to commencing an approved course of study.

The Government has devoted significant resources to the back to education allowance, with €519 million allocated over the lifetime of the National Development Plan 2007-2013. This year, the budget for the scheme is €87.8 million and the number of participants has increased again in the current academic year. The number participating in the scheme at the end of January 2009 was 11,534, an increase of 46% compared with the end of January 2008.

The back to education allowance is an important part of our overall strategy to provide opportunities for unemployed people to upskill in order to enhance their prospects of entering or returning to the labour force. The requirement to be in receipt of a social welfare payment for a minimum period has always been a feature of the scheme. A waiting period is considered essential to confer entitlement to income support for an indefinite period and is considered necessary in the context of targeting scarce resources at those who need them most. The scheme will continue to be monitored in the light of the changed economic circumstance in order to ensure that it continues to meet its objectives.

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