Michael Ring (Mayo, Fine Gael)
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Question 182: To ask the Minister for Social and Family Affairs if there is financial help available towards the cost of a course for a person (details supplied) in County Mayo. [23985/08]

Mary Hanafin (Dún Laoghaire, Fianna Fail)
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The Department has a programme of initiatives designed to assist social welfare recipients including lone parents to return to the active labour force. The back to education allowance (BTEA) facilitates people on certain social welfare payments to improve their skills and qualifications and, therefore, their prospects of returning to the active work force. The scheme enables qualified people who have been getting a social welfare payment to continue to receive a payment while pursuing an approved full-time education course.

To qualify for participation an applicant must be in receipt of a relevant social welfare payment and must be at least 21 years of age prior to commencing an approved course of study. A person must have been in receipt of a social welfare payment for at least six months (156 days) for a second level option course and 12 months (312 days) for a third level option course immediately prior to commencing an approved course of study.

The person concerned should contact her local Social Welfare Office to arrange to meet with a facilitator who will be able to advise her on eligibility for participation in the BTEA scheme and explore possible alternative supports through linkages with other agencies and organisations at local level.