Simon Coveney (Cork South Central, Fine Gael)
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Question 41: To ask the Minister for Social and Family Affairs why, in view of the social policy reform agenda in which his Department is committed to assisting those dependent on social welfare to return to education and employment, the employment support services section of his Department which deals with the back to work allowance and back to education allowance, shows a 1% reduction in estimated costs for 2006; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [37271/05]

Séamus Brennan (Dublin South, Fianna Fail)
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My Department assists and encourages the unemployed and other welfare recipients, including lone parents and people with disabilities, to return to work, training or further education through a range of measures. One such measure is the back to work allowance scheme which incentivises and encourages people to return to work by allowing them to retain part of their social welfare payment for a period when they take up employment or self-employment. Another measure is the back to education allowance scheme which provides support to social welfare recipients who need to obtain educational qualifications before re-entering the labour force.

The recently published 2006 abridged Estimates, as is usual, made no provision for changes in eligibility, entitlements or rates of payment for any of the schemes administered by my Department. Improvements across the range of the schemes are being considered at present in the context of next week's budget.

The 1% reduction in the estimated cost of the employment support services of my Department in the 2006 abridged Estimates is due to provision for a decrease of 1,600 in the average number of participants on the back to work allowance scheme partially offset by provision for an increase of 1,100 in the average number of participants on the back to education allowance scheme. The predicted decrease in back to work allowance participants in 2006 reflects the fact that numbers on the scheme have been declining over recent years. The scheme reached its peak in October 2000 when there were 39,343 participants. The number of participants currently stands at 9,244. The 2006 Estimate assumes the participation level will fall further to about 8,500 by the middle of next year. Since its introduction in September 1993 the scheme has assisted over 110,000 people to take up self-employment and employment.

The predicted increase in back to education allowance participants in 2006 reflects the fact that numbers on the scheme have been growing over recent years. Additionally, I significantly relaxed the qualifying rules for the scheme in September of this year. The main changes I made involved reductions in the length of time persons must be in receipt of social welfare payments before qualifying for third level education under the scheme. There were 7,308 back to education participants in the 2004-05 academic year, of which 3,023 were pursuing second level qualifications and 4,285 were pursuing third level qualifications. The 2006 Estimate assumes the participation level will increase to 8,500 by the start of the 2006-07 academic year. Since the scheme was first introduced in 1990 it is estimated that more than 12,000 participants have gained third level qualifications with its support. As I have already said, improvements to these and other schemes administered by my Department are being considered in the context of the forthcoming budget.