David Stanton (Cork East, Fine Gael)
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Question 88: To ask the Minister for Social and Family Affairs if the qualification criterion stands at nine months with regard to the back to education allowance for entry into third level courses; if so, when his Department's website will be updated to state same; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [2684/06]

Séamus Brennan (Dublin South, Fianna Fail)
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The back to education allowance is a second chance education opportunities scheme 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. In budget 2005 the qualifying period for persons accessing the third level option of the scheme was reduced from 15 months' to 12 months' attachment to a relevant social welfare payment. In August 2005, I announced a further reduction in the 12 month requirement to nine months for persons participating in the national employment action plan, NEAP, process, provided that the third level course of study being pursued is assessed and recommended by the FÁS employment services officer as essential to the enhancement of the individual's employment prospects.

The freedom of information guidelines relating to the scheme were updated in a timely manner to reflect the change and published on my Department's website at that time. The information booklet on the scheme, SW70, is updated each year following the budget. The latest version of the booklet is also published on-line on my Department's website.

Given the fact that those persons affected by the reduction to nine months would be informed on an individual basis by the FÁS employment services officer, the then imminence of the new academic year, and the fact that a revised information booklet would not be available in a short timeframe, it was decided that it was not necessary or feasible to produce a new information booklet prior to budget 2006. Work has commenced on the reprint of the information booklet. When the final document is published details will also be updated on my Department's website.

David Stanton (Cork East, Fine Gael)
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Question 89: To ask the Minister for Social and Family Affairs if his Department has information on the level of educational qualification attained by each lone parent in receipt of one parent family payments; if so, the breakdown of the educational qualifications achieved; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [2685/06]

Séamus Brennan (Dublin South, Fianna Fail)
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The one parent family payment, OFP, is paid by my Department to parents who, for one reason or another, are parenting alone. Educational attainment is not a condition for receipt of the payment and no data on the level of qualification attained by the OFP recipient are captured at the time of application. At the end of 2005 there were some 80,000 lone parents in receipt of one parent family payment.

Based on data from the CSO census in 2002, a total of 154,000 persons categorised themselves as lone parents. This included people on one parent family payment, widow's pension and people not in receipt of any social welfare payment. However, a breakdown across those categories is not available. As the total includes more than 37,000 people aged 65 years or more, it presumably includes parents with adult children who self-categorise themselves as lone parents. The CSO's analysis of the lone parent census data shows that 32% of those who categorised themselves as lone parents had primary level or no formal education, 26% had completed the junior certificate, 22% had completed the leaving certificate, 13% had completed third level and 7% were either not stated or not available.

Analysis of the census data shows that age is a key factor in the highest level of education completed, with older age groups tending to have completed education at a lower level. For example, 45.6% of lone parents with primary level or no formal education are aged 65 or more and a further 47.3% are aged 35 to 64, meaning that 92.9% are over 35. Recipients of the one parent family payment tend to fall into younger age groups. For example, two-thirds of OFP recipients are under 35, whereas only 21% of lone parents reported in the census are under 35.

Census data for lone parents aged under 35 show that approximately 10% have primary level education only, including those with no formal education, and a further 37% have intermediate level. Therefore approximately 47% have a level of education which would bring them to the minimum school leaving age but not beyond.

The census findings refer to those in the population as a whole who categorise themselves as lone parents and cannot be assumed to apply in the same proportions to those in receipt of the one parent family payment.

One of the key tasks in the ending child poverty initiative under Sustaining Progress is to address obstacles to employment for lone parents. In this context, a sub-group of the senior officials group on social inclusion has been examining obstacles to employment for lone parent families, with particular emphasis on income supports, employment, education, child care and support programmes and information. In addition, a working group established in my Department to review the income support arrangements for lone parents has looked at issues including the contingency basis of the one parent family payment, cohabitation, maintenance and secondary benefits. A consultation process with social partners and other interested parties was also undertaken to inform the work of the group.

I intend to make the findings of both working groups public in the near future.