Bernard Durkan (Kildare North, Fine Gael)
Link to this: Individually | In context

Question 352: To ask the Minister for Social and Family Affairs if he proposes to ease the qualifications for the back to education allowance in the coming year; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [26648/07]

Martin Cullen (Waterford, Fianna Fail)
Link to this: Individually | In context

My Department provides a wide range of second chance education opportunities to facilitate people on certain social welfare payments to improve their skills and qualifications and, therefore, their prospects of returning to the active work force.

The back to education allowance (BTEA) is one of these second chance education opportunities schemes. It is paid at a standard weekly rate equivalent to the maximum rate of the relevant social welfare payment that qualifies the applicant for participation in the scheme. It essentially replaces their existing social welfare income and in addition an annual €400 cost of education allowance is payable.

To qualify for participation an applicant must, inter alia, be in receipt of a relevant social welfare payment for a period of time and be at least 21 years of age prior to commencing an approved course of study. Persons in receipt of disability related payments may access the scheme at 18 years of age. Similarly, lone parents and persons in receipt of unemployment payments can qualify at 18 years of age provided they are out of formal education for at least 2 years.

As part of the Government's Expenditure Review Programme, a working group chaired by my Department reviewed the back to education allowance scheme in 2005. The group comprised representatives of the Departments of Social & Family Affairs, Enterprise, Trade and Employment, Education and Science, Finance and FÁS. The working group made nine recommendations, some of which have already been implemented.

These include earlier access to the allowance for participants of the National Employment Action Plan (NEAP). Access is now available to the third level option for qualified participants who have been in receipt of Jobseekers Allowance for nine months as opposed to the standard requirement of twelve months. Additionally the scheme has been extended to include all those of working age in receipt of a Social Welfare payment.

Recent Budgets have also provided for improvements to the back to education scheme. The 2006 Budget provided that time spent in receipt of supplementary welfare allowance from the Health Services Executive or in the direct provision system operated by the Department of Justice, Equality and Law Reform can count towards the qualifying period 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 Budget 2007 it was provided that people who are awarded Statutory Redundancy may access the scheme immediately provided an entitlement to a relevant social welfare payment is established prior to commencing an approved course of study. In addition the qualifying period for illness benefit recipients was reduced from three to two years. These further improvements to the back to education scheme came into effect from the beginning of the current academic year i.e. 1 September 2007.

The operation of my Department's employment support measures, in the context of current labour market conditions, is continually monitored to ensure that it continues to support those people who are the most distant from the labour market and whose needs are greatest. At present it not proposed to make any further changes in qualifying criteria.