Noel Ahern (Dublin North West, Fianna Fail)
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Question 274: To ask the Minister for Social Protection the position regarding the entitlements to benefits of a person (details supplied) in Dublin 9; if rent allowance and family income supplement will be awarded at same time as back to work scheme; and if all entitlements are awarded to this person. [18818/10]

Éamon Ó Cuív (Galway West, Fianna Fail)
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The Back to Work Allowance (BTWA) scheme is designed to assist the long term unemployed, lone parents, people with disabilities and other social welfare recipients to return to the workforce. There were two strands to the scheme, the Back to Work Enterprise allowance for the self-employed and the Back to Work Allowance for employees. The Back to Work Allowance strand was closed to new applicants from 1st May 2009.

A person who qualifies for jobseeker's benefit may have immediate access to the Short Term Enterprise Allowance, provided they have 104 contributions paid or have established entitlement to statutory redundancy from their latest period of employment. It is payable at the same rate and for the same duration as jobseeker's benefit. The qualifying period required for access to the Back to Work Enterprise allowance scheme, for people on the live register, has been reduced from 2 years to 12 months provided a person has an underlying entitlement to jobseeker's allowance. If a person does not have an underlying entitlement to jobseeker's allowance they can access the scheme in accordance with the current qualifying conditions. The allowance is paid on a reducing scale over 2 years; 100% of a person's social welfare payment in year 1 and 75% in year 2.

A person receiving a back to work allowance as an employee may qualify for family income supplement. In these cases the social welfare payment is assessable as means. The claimant must be in employment as an employee, under a contract of service; self-employment does not qualify as employment in this context. The spouse or partner may however be self-employed and income from such self-employment is assessed in relation to the income condition.

The supplementary welfare allowance scheme provides for a weekly or monthly supplement to be paid in respect of rent to any person in the State whose means are insufficient to meet their needs. The supplementary welfare allowance scheme is administered by the community welfare service of the Health Service Executive on behalf of the Department.

The purpose of the rent supplement scheme is to provide short-term 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. A person participating on a back to work allowance scheme can continue to receive rent supplement subject to their satisfying the standard means assessment rules.

There is no record of an application for family income supplement from the person concerned. Due to staff action currently being taken in the HSE, I regret that I am unable to provide the information sought by the Deputy in relation to the entitlement to rent supplement from the person concerned.