Kathleen Lynch (Cork North Central, Labour)

I thank the Senator for accepting that I would not have the answer to his specific issue. However, if he lets me have a copy of the letter, I can certainly get, if not a solution, at least an explanation.

The Department of Social Protection provides a wide range of second-chance education opportunities for unemployed people, lone parents and people with disabilities. The Department's objective in this area is to raise education and skill levels among the long-term unemployed in order to help them meet the requirements of the current market. The main scheme available for supporting unemployed people in accessing full-time third level education is the back to education allowance scheme, BTEA. Further support is afforded through the part-time education option, PTEO, which can facilitate unemployed persons who wish to pursue third level courses on a part-time basis. The BTEA is a second-chance education opportunities scheme designed to remove the barriers to participation in second and third level education. It enables eligible people on certain social welfare payments to continue to receive payments while pursuing an approved full-time education course which leads to a higher qualification than that already held.

Significant resources have been devoted to the BTEA scheme in recent years against a backdrop of fiscal consolidation. The budget for the BTEA scheme in 2012 is more than €183 million, and expenditure in 2011 was more than €201 million. The number of participants in the BTEA scheme has grown steadily in recent years. The most recent figures indicate that around 25,700 participants, 88.5% of whom were originally on jobseeker's benefit or allowance, have been awarded BTEA for the 2011-12 academic year. This represents almost a 3% increase on the 2010-11 academic year. The number of participants in the BTEA scheme has risen from 20,808 in the 2009-10 academic year to 25,032 in the 2010-11 academic year, which represents an increase of 20.3%. The 2009-10 academic year saw an increase of 79% on the previous academic year. A person wishing to participate in the scheme will need to satisfy a number of criteria, such as being a certain age, being 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 increasing his or her level of education with reference to the National Framework of Qualifications.

The ICT skills programme 2012 referred to by the Senator is supported via the PTEO, which is designed to facilitate jobseekers who wish to engage in part-time day, evening or weekend courses or more intensive short courses of education and training while retaining their jobseeker's payments, while an entitlement exists. The ICT programme announced by the Government in January offers people the opportunity to study part-time for a postgraduate qualification in areas in which there are currently skills shortages and in which more employment opportunities are expected to arise as the economy recovers. The programme allows graduates of different backgrounds to acquire ICT skills. The Department of Education and Skills clearly stated when launching the programme that participation in the programme will not create an entitlement to any income support payment, a student grant or the BTEA. Applicants must be currently in receipt of jobseeker's benefit, jobseeker's allowance or jobseeker's credits and have been unemployed for a minimum period of 78 days in the previous six months if they wish to retain their social welfare payments while participating in the programme. They are advised to apply at their local social welfare offices and verify they are eligible for participation. Participation on a course does not grant any extension to the normal period for which jobseeker's benefit is paid. The Department of Education and Skills attaches strict eligibility criteria in terms of qualifications required for this programme. The programme represents an excellent opportunity for those who meet these criteria to develop skills in the ICT area.

A waiting period prior to entitlement to programmes of this nature is considered essential to allow potential participants an opportunity to search for jobs and also to counter possible deadweight effects and ensure scarce resources are directed to those with the greatest needs.