Bernard Durkan (Kildare North, Fine Gael)
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Question 422: To ask the Minister for Social and Family Affairs if she will ease the qualification criteria for the back to education allowance in view of the current factors; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [35028/08]

Mary Hanafin (Dún Laoghaire, Fianna Fail)
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The Back to Education Allowance (BTEA) Scheme is designed to help those who have not worked for some time to improve their employability and job-readiness by acquiring educational qualifications. It is a recognition of the special difficulties which such persons can face when attempting to gain a foothold in the labour market.

The requirement to be in receipt of a relevant social welfare payment for a minimum period has always been a feature of the BTEA scheme and is considered necessary to ensure that limited resources are directed at those most in need. The allowance 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 €500 cost of education allowance is payable.

To qualify for participation an applicant must be in receipt of a relevant social welfare payment and be at least 21 years of age prior to commencing an approved course of study. However, 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.

In general, an applicant must be in receipt of a relevant Social Welfare payment for 6 months if pursuing a second level course or 12 months if pursuing a third level course. However, since 2007, people who are awarded statutory redundancy may access the Back to Education Allowance 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 access to the third level option has been reduced to 9 months for 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 individual's employment prospects.

The current scheme has been subject to review and modification over the years to ensure it continues to support those people who are most distant from the labour market and whose need is greatest. I will continue to monitor the scheme but I believe that, overall, the back to education allowance scheme continues to meet its objectives and ensures that limited resources are targeted at those who are most in need. The number of participants on the BTEA scheme has increased in recent years, supported by a growth in expenditure on the scheme from €38 million in 2003 to a provision of €70 million this year.

Bernard Durkan (Kildare North, Fine Gael)
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Question 423: To ask the Minister for Social and Family Affairs if she will review rent and mortgage support to cater for the needs of those expected to be affected by the economic situation; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [35029/08]

Mary Hanafin (Dún Laoghaire, Fianna Fail)
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The supplementary welfare allowance scheme provides for a weekly or monthly supplement to be paid in respect of rent or mortgage interest to any person in the State whose means are insufficient to meet their needs.

The purpose of the rent supplement scheme is to provide short-term income support, to eligible people living in private rented accommodation whose means are insufficient to meet their accommodation costs and who do not have accommodation available to them from any other source.

In recent years, a significant number of people have come to rely on rent supplement for extended periods. There are currently over 68,000 people in receipt of rent supplement, an increase of 14% since the end of December 2007. Almost 32,000 are getting a supplement for 18 months or more. For this reason, the rent supplement scheme has to be viewed in the context of overall housing policy, particularly in the case of long-term recipients.

The Government introduced new rental assistance arrangements which came into effect in 2005 and included the rental accommodation scheme (RAS).

The RAS gives local authorities specific responsibility for meeting the longer term housing needs of people receiving rent supplement for 18 months or more, on a phased implementation basis. Since 2005, over 15,800 rent supplement recipients have been assessed for RAS and have had their housing needs met by their local authority. 8,300 of these are accommodated under RAS and 7,500 have transferred to other social housing options.

Significant improvements to the means test for rent supplement were implemented in 2007 specifically to facilitate people returning to full-time work who had been accepted as eligible for accommodation under RAS. These measures are positive steps in assisting tenants in achieving a long-term housing solution for their needs.

Mortgage interest supplement also provides short-term income support to eligible people who are unable to meet their mortgage interest repayments in respect of a house which is their sole place of residence. The supplement assists with the interest portion of the mortgage repayments only. There are currently 6,600 people in receipt of mortgage interest supplement, a 60% increase on the numbers receiving the supplement at the end of 2007.

Improvements to the rent and mortgage interest supplement means test were implemented in June 2007 providing for a gradual withdrawal of the supplement as hours of employment or earnings increase. Where a person has additional income in excess of the standard weekly rate of supplementary welfare allowance, the first €75 of such additional income together with 25% of any additional income above €75 is disregarded for means assessment purposes. This ensures that those returning to part-time work or participating in training schemes are better off as a result of taking up such an opportunity.

Rent and mortgage interest supplement is calculated to ensure that an eligible person, after the payment of rent or mortgage interest, has an income equal to the rate of supplementary welfare allowance appropriate to his or her family circumstances, less a minimum weekly contribution which each recipient is required to pay from his or her own resources. When last set in 2004, the minimum contribution represented approximately 10% of the minimum social welfare weekly payment rate. While social welfare payments have risen by nearly €70 per week since then, no upward adjustment has been made to the minimum contribution.

As part of Budget 2009, I announced my intention to increase the minimum contribution from €13 to €18 with effect from 1 January 2009 which will represent 8.8% of the basic social welfare weekly payment. It will also significantly reduce the differential between the contribution which rent supplement tenants pay and the contribution payable under the local authority differential rent scheme. Some 68,763 people are currently receiving rent supplement and 6,729 are receiving mortgage interest supplement, increases of 15% and 64% respectively, on the number receiving these supplements at the end of 2007. Almost 47,000 new rent supplements and over 5,000 new mortgage interest supplements have been awarded since the start of the year. This indicates that the schemes are effective in meeting the needs of those who require assistance with their accommodation costs.

I am satisfied that the current rent and mortgage interest supplement schemes provide an adequate short-term "safety net" within the overall social welfare system. Nonetheless I intend to keep the schemes under review to ensure that they meet the objective of catering for those who require assistance on a short-term basis while long-term housing needs are dealt with in a more appropriate manner. The Department will also continue working closely with the Department of the Environment, Heritage and Local Government in ensuring that RAS meets its objective of catering for those on long term rent supplementation while enabling rent supplement to return to its original role of a short-term income support.