Bernard Durkan (Kildare North, Fine Gael)
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Question 177: To ask the Minister for Social and Family Affairs if he will ease the qualification guidelines for the back to education allowance; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [8226/07]

Séamus Brennan (Dublin South, Fianna Fail)
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The back to education allowance (BTEA) 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.

I reduced the qualifying period for access to the third level option of the scheme from 15 to 12 months in the 2005 Budget. At that time, I also increased the annual cost of education allowance, paid to people on BTEA, from €254 to €400.

Following an undertaking to the Dáil and the Social Affairs Committee, I further reduced the qualifying period for access to the third level option to 9 months. This condition applies 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 individuals employment prospects. This new condition also came into effect from 1 September 2005.

In the 2006 Budget, I announced that time spent in receipt of supplementary welfare allowance from the Health Services Executive or the direct provision system operated by the Department of Justice, Equality and Law Reform can count towards the qualifying period for back to education allowance in circumstances where the person establishes an entitlement to a relevant social welfare payment prior to commencing an approved course of study. This provision came into effect from 1 September 2006.

In the most recent Budget, I announced that people who are awarded Statutory Redundancy may access the BTEA scheme immediately provided an entitlement to a relevant social welfare payment is established prior to commencing an approved course of study. I also reduced the qualifying period for illness benefit recipients from three to two years. These further improvements to the BTEA scheme will come into effect from the beginning of the new academic year i.e. 1 September 2007.

I will continue to monitor the scheme but I believe that, overall, the current arrangements ensure that my Department's back to education allowance scheme continues to support those people who are most distant from the labour market and whose need is greatest.