Pat Carey (Dublin North West, Fianna Fail)
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Question 230: To ask the Minister for Social and Family Affairs the reason recipients of social welfare are entitled to child benefit for children up to 21 years in full-time education, while persons who are in employment are entitled to draw child benefit only for children up to 19 years of age in full-time education; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [5759/05]

Séamus Brennan (Dublin South, Fianna Fail)
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Child benefit is payable in respect of children up to the age of 16 years and continues to be paid in respect of children up to age 19 years while they remain in full-time education, or where they have a physical or mental disability. Payment of child benefit does not extend beyond a child's 19th birthday. Child benefit is payable in respect of all children whether or not the parents are in employment or in receipt of social welfare payments.

Child dependant allowance is an additional payment made to social welfare recipients in respect of each qualified child dependant. In the case of short-term payments this allowance is payable in respect of a child who is under 18 years of age.

Payment of the allowance continues to age 22 years where the person is in receipt of a long-term social welfare payment, or a short-term social welfare payment for six months or more and the child is in full-time education.

Pat Carey (Dublin North West, Fianna Fail)
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Question 231: To ask the Minister for Social and Family Affairs the number of persons in receipt of single parent payments in the Dublin 11 area; their breakdown by category; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [5760/05]

Séamus Brennan (Dublin South, Fianna Fail)
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The number of people in receipt of a one-parent family payment with an address in the Dublin 11 postal district is 2,467. The breakdown by category is unmarried parents, 2,079; separated spouses, 376; widowed persons, 11; and prisoners' spouses, one.

Arthur Morgan (Louth, Sinn Fein)
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Question 232: To ask the Minister for Social and Family Affairs the number of persons in receipt of social welfare allowances. [5845/05]

Séamus Brennan (Dublin South, Fianna Fail)
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The objective of the supplementary welfare allowance scheme, which is administered on behalf of my Department by the community welfare division of the Health Service Executive, is to provide assistance to eligible people in the State whose means are insufficient to meet their basic needs.

In addition to a basic weekly allowance, assistance may be provided in the form of supplements which may be paid in respect of needs such as rent, mortgage interest, diet or special heating requirements or in any other case where it appears to the executive that the circumstances of the case so warrant.

A single payment can also be made to meet an exceptional need or in urgent situations. Such payments are made at the discretion of the executive taking into account the particular circumstances of a case.

Details of the numbers of recipients are summarised in the following table:

Michael D Higgins (Galway West, Labour)
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Question 233: To ask the Minister for Social and Family Affairs if he will reconsider the application of a person (details supplied) in County Galway who has previously applied, and been turned down for, the back-to-education allowance given that the application was turned down on the grounds that the number of days during which the person was in receipt of social welfare payment fell short of the minimum given. [5923/05]

Séamus Brennan (Dublin South, Fianna Fail)
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The back-to-education allowance is a second chance education opportunities programme designed to encourage and facilitate people on certain social welfare payments to improve their skills and qualifications and, therefore, their prospects of returning to the active work force.

To qualify for participation in the scheme an applicant must be, inter alia, in receipt of a relevant social welfare payment for at least six months if pursuing a second level course of study. The qualifying period for third level courses of study was increased from six months to 15 months for new applicants from September 2004.

This qualifying period is to be reduced from 15 months to 12 months from September 2005. However, the person concerned started his course of study in September 2004 when the qualifying period was 15 months and does not, therefore, satisfy the eligibility criteria for participation in the scheme.