Bernard Durkan (Kildare North, Fine Gael)
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Question 471: To ask the Minister for Social and Family Affairs if she proposes to make improvements to qualification guidelines for applicants for the back to education allowance having particular regard to the unfolding economic situation resulting in increases in the number of people unemployed; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [40000/08]

Mary Hanafin (Dún Laoghaire, Fianna Fail)
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The back to education allowance (BTEA) Scheme is designed to help those in receipt of a social welfare payment 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 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.

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, where a FAS Employment Services Officer recommends pursuance of a third level course of study as essential to the enhancement of the individual's employment prospects. Also 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. 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 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 €70.8 million this year.

Bernard Durkan (Kildare North, Fine Gael)
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Question 473: To ask the Minister for Social and Family Affairs if she will increase the means test threshold for qualification for means tested payments with a view to alleviating hardship in the present economic situation; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [40002/08]

Mary Hanafin (Dún Laoghaire, Fianna Fail)
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Social welfare has been prioritised in this Budget. Next year, total funding for the Department of Social and Family Affairs will be €19.6 billion. This represents an increase of €2.6 billion or 15.5% over the Estimates allocation for 2008. Over 1.7 million people and their dependents will benefit from this expenditure.

The Budget provides for increases of between 3 and 3.8% in the basic social welfare payment rates next year compared to projected inflation of 2.5%. These increases are also in line with the wage rises agreed by the social partners in the 2nd phase of the National Pay Agreement.

In relation to means testing arrangements, improvements are being made to the Family Income Supplement which is paid to low income working families. The income limits for the FIS are being increased by €10 per week in respect of each child giving an average extra payment of €6 per child per week. Furthermore, the income thresholds for entitlement to Back to School Clothing and Footwear Allowance are also being increased to enable 18,000 more families to benefit from the scheme. Further improvements in means testing arrangements fall to be considered in the context of future Budgets.