Michael Noonan (Limerick East, Fine Gael)
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Question 718: To ask the Minister for Social and Family Affairs if, in view of the changes he is making to the back to education scheme, he will reconsider the hardship caused to a person (details supplied) in County Limerick; if he will consider backdating the date of implementation of his changes to include this person; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [24434/05]

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 workforce. The conditions for entitlement to the third level option of the back to education allowance scheme were revised with effect from 1 September 2004. From that date, the qualifying period was increased from six months to 15 months for new applicants intending to commence third level courses of study.

The BTEA scheme was always intended to benefit people who had difficulty finding employment because of a lack of education qualifications. In many cases, people who have not completed second level education are held back in their efforts to obtain employment because of this. The qualification period for people who wish to pursue second level education has remained at six months and the numbers taking second level education with the support of BTEA are increasing.

I reduced the qualifying period for access to the third level option of the scheme to 12 months in the last budget. I also increased the annual cost of education allowance, paid to people on BTEA, from €254 to €400. These changes came into effect from 1 September 2005. Following an undertaking to the Dáil and the Oireachtas Joint Committee on Social and Family Affairs, I have further reduced the qualifying period for access to the third level option to nine months in certain cases. This condition will apply to persons who are participating in the national employment action plan, NEAP, process and where a FÁS employment services officer recommends pursuance of a third level course of study as essential to the enhancement of the individual's employment prospects. This new condition also came into effect from 1 September 2005.

The person concerned started his course of study in September 2004 when the qualifying criterion was 15 months. As he is already in full-time education, he does not satisfy the conditions for participation in the BTEA scheme and it is not possible to backdate the implementation of changes outlined above.

Paul Kehoe (Wexford, Fine Gael)
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Question 719: To ask the Minister for Social and Family Affairs if he will consider altering the criteria for the family income supplement so that the 19 hours per week or 38 hours per fortnight can be averaged out annually for term time workers and they are not stopped payment when off during the holidays; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [24454/05]

Séamus Brennan (Dublin South, Fianna Fail)
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My Department administers a number of income support measures, including family income supplement which was introduced in 1984 to provide income support for employees with families on low earnings and thereby preserve the incentive to remain in employment in circumstances where they might be only marginally better off than if they were fully reliant on social welfare payments. It is not intended to provide income support for persons who opt to reduce their hours of work.

The National Economic and Social Council is examining the merging of child dependant allowances with the family income supplement scheme into a second tier child income support payment as a way of addressing the issue of child poverty by channelling resources to low income families without creating disincentives to employment. I look forward to receiving the NESC report in the near future.

Arthur Morgan (Louth, Sinn Fein)
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Question 720: To ask the Minister for Social and Family Affairs the percentage of those in receipt of rent supplement who are single. [24464/05]

Séamus Brennan (Dublin South, Fianna Fail)
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There are 35,499 recipients of rent supplement whose marital status is recorded as single, equivalent to 61% of the total of 58,549 people receiving rent supplement at present.