Fergus O'Dowd (Louth, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I thank the Deputy for raising this issue.

The Department estimates that expenditure on employment supports will be over €960 million in 2012. This substantial expenditure, which is against a backdrop of significant fiscal consolidation, underlines the Government's commitment to enhancing support for activation and assisting people return to employment. As outlined in the Pathways document, the Department will offer 85,650 job placement, work experience and education initiatives in 2012. Included in the supports available is the back to education allowance, BTEA, scheme which is a second-chance education opportunities scheme designed to remove the barriers to participation in second and third level education.

A person wishing to qualify for the BTEA will have to satisfy a number of conditions such as being of 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, with reference to the national framework of qualifications, among others. The BTEA scheme covers a large range of full-time courses of education in approved colleges spanning basic foundation courses to third-level courses across all disciplines.

The BTEA guidelines are, in the main, in line with the mechanisms in place for student support type schemes administered by the Department of Education and Skills. Progression in education is a condition which is not unique to the BTEA. Indeed State support for education purposes is grounded on a student progressing from one qualification level to a higher one. This is necessary to ensure displacement does not occur, in that courses could be offered to students who are not progressing at the cost of students progressing from a lower education level.

Resources allocated and numbers supported through the BTEA have increased steadily in recent years. It is estimated that over €200 million will be spent on the BTEA in 2012 as compared to 2008 when, for example, just over €77 million was spent on the scheme. Some 25,700 participants were supported in the 2011-12 academic year which represents a significant 120% increase compared to the 2008-09 academic year. It is expected that numbers availing of the scheme for the current academic year will be similar to last year. Persons wishing to pursue a part-time education course may be able to do so while retaining their jobseeker's payment under the part-time education option, PTEO, of the back to education programme. Examples of courses that may be pursued under the PTEO are the 6,000 part-time higher education places for unemployed people made available under the Springboard initiative announced earlier this year by the Minister for Education and Skills, Deputy Ruairi Quinn. In addition, the Department also supports the provision of a wide variety of training courses through networks of private sector companies in a range of sectors and regions, supported by Skillnets Ltd., through the PTEO. It should also be noted that FÁS, as the national training authority, anticipates the needs of, and responds to, a constantly changing labour market. It strives to do this through the provision of tailored training programmes that suit various needs and access to many training programmes is not determined by a person's welfare status.

The Department is reviewing a wide range of activation supports available to Department of Social Protection customers, including the BTEA and it is intended to canvass the views of stakeholders as part of the implementation process resulting from the review.

The intention is to canvass the views of stakeholders as part of the implementation process resulting from this review.

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