John Gormley (Dublin South East, Green Party)
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Question 281: To ask the Minister for Social and Family Affairs his plans to encourage single parents to go back to further education; his views on whether this would be made easier if assistance were made available for children over the age of five; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [36807/05]

Séamus Brennan (Dublin South, Fianna Fail)
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My Department administers a range of back to education supports, under the umbrella of its employment support services, to encourage and facilitate single parents and others to return to work through the acquisition and improvement of skills and academic qualifications which will enable them to compete more successfully for employment. The programmes which the people concerned pursue range from basic literacy courses through to certain postgraduate university courses. One of the main supports provided by my Department is the back to education allowance scheme, which covers full-time second and third level courses.

The back to education allowance is a social welfare income replacement scheme which is paid at a standard weekly rate equivalent to the maximum rate of the relevant social welfare payment that the applicant had been receiving prior to participating in the scheme. The allowance also has a number of unique features attaching to it. It is payable for the duration of the course of study, which in the case of lone parents, includes all holiday periods. The scheme itself is not means tested and, consequently, lone parents may take up part-time employment during the academic year and full-time employment during the summer period without affecting their payment. In addition, participants receive a cost of education allowance of €400 which is payable at the beginning of each academic year. Participants also retain entitlement to any secondary benefits they had while in receipt of the relevant social welfare payment that qualified them for participation in the scheme.

The provision of support to single parents to stay in or return to education is also addressed through the education system. With regard to first chance education, my colleague, the Minister for Education and Science has in place a range of programmes for single parents wishing to stay in or return to education, including the home tuition scheme, the vocational training opportunities scheme and Youthreach. In addition, the Department of Education and Science provides child care supports for people participating in certain education programmes funded by VECs. In some cases, people accessing those programmes do so with the support of my Department's back to education allowance scheme. However, since its inception, child care support has never been a feature of the back to education allowance scheme per se.

The question of such support to participants in receipt of the allowance would have significant cost implications and would have to be considered in the context of other supports such as those funded by the Department of Education and Science.

In general, I am satisfied that the current arrangements ensure that my Department's back to education allowance scheme continues to support those who are most distant from the labour market, including single parents. This scheme is, however, being kept under regular review to ensure that it continues to support those in need. In addition, I am currently examining reports on the obstacles to employment, training and education for single parents in the overall context of social policy reform in this area.