David Cullinane (Sinn Fein)
Link to this: Individually | In context

I welcome the Minister of State back to the House. I wish to draw her attention to the eligibility for the ICT skills programme 2012. Many such programmes require workers to be unemployed for a time before qualifying for the retention of their social welfare payments, which can create problems for many people. I wish to read out a letter written by the local office manager in my county to an individual. It states:

I write in response to the inquiries you made to Ms Joan Burton TD, Minister for Social Protection, which were forwarded to me for reply on the matter of your eligibility to participate in the ICT Skills Programme, 2012.

In the first instance and referring back to your submission to the Minister, I accept you were given advice in late February that you were likely to be eligible to participate on the Springboard Initiative [...] and retain your Jobseekers entitlement whilst engaged on that training.

The Springboard Initiative itself was announced in May 2011 as part of the Government's Jobs Initiative, in order to offer people the opportunity to study on a part-time basis for higher education qualifications in areas where employment opportunities are expected to arise as the economy recovers.

No minimum jobseekers signing period was prescribed under the terms of the original Springboard announcement and with that in mind, my colleagues advised that your eligibility to participate on the ICT Skills Programme should not be problematic [to retaining your benefits].

However, after the ICT Skills Programme was formally announced as part of the joint Government - Industry ICT Action Plan, this Department received an instruction that for that particular programme, eligible applicants must [again] apply through the Bluebrick web site, but critically they must also have an existing jobseekers claim duration of at least six months in order to qualify to participate on the programme.

The same individual was told he needed to give up the programme, go back on the dole for six or 12 months and then start again, which is madness. There is unfairness here. I doubt if he is the only one informed of that by social welfare officers who obviously had misinformation or the information was just not available at the time. There is the obvious injustice of having to leave a course, sit on his backside for six months - which he does not want to do - and claim social welfare, when he should be doing a course. Even the formal response from the local office manager still got it wrong, because the requirement is not six months but three months.

Why is there a lack of communication from the Department of Social Protection and the local social welfare office as to what is happening? In this instance it is unfair. The person in question contacted the local social welfare office and was told he qualified for the scheme without affecting his benefits. He worked away and then came back to complete the appropriate form indicating he was now doing a course. He was then told his benefits could not be paid and he must either be cut off completely or start again. That situation needs to be investigated. While I do not expect the Minister of State to have the answer for this individual's query, I ask that it be investigated. However, I ask her to deal with the requirement for people to be unemployed for a time period. What is the logic for that? For people who want to do such a course it is unfair that they do not qualify if, for example, they are in receipt of payments for only five months - or in this case if they are in receipt of payments for two months and two weeks where the requirement is three months. It is an impediment for unemployed people wanting to start courses.

Kathleen Lynch (Cork North Central, Labour)
Link to this: Individually | In context

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.

David Cullinane (Sinn Fein)
Link to this: Individually | In context

I will not delay the Minister at all. The confusion is due to the fact that the letter stated the applicant should be in receipt of jobseeker's benefit for at least six months in order to qualify, but it is actually a minimum period of 78 days in the preceding six months. I imagine it was a misinterpretation of the intention. If I forward the particulars of the person's circumstances, the Minister might examine these.

Kathleen Lynch (Cork North Central, Labour)
Link to this: Individually | In context

As someone who has had some dealings with the social welfare system in the past, I believe 78 days might still represent six months because weekends are not counted. It used to be 390 days, which could be split into different periods.

David Cullinane (Sinn Fein)
Link to this: Individually | In context

Five days per week in one month still adds up to 20-something days. I think it is actually three months.

Kathleen Lynch (Cork North Central, Labour)
Link to this: Individually | In context

Yes, but it might just be the way the Department calculates it. I will take a look at the information the Deputy provides. I would not like to mislead him about the qualification period.

David Cullinane (Sinn Fein)
Link to this: Individually | In context

I thank the Minister of State.