Dan Neville (Limerick West, Fine Gael)
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Question 233: To ask the Minister for Social Protection if he will review the back to education allowance scheme and include those who are studying for a Masters to be considered under the back to education allowance scheme providing they satisfy the other conditions of the scheme having been on social welfare prior to doing their Masters; if he will consider this especially since up to 2003 the Masters programmes had been eligible for BTEA; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [43580/10]

Éamon Ó Cuív (Galway West, Fianna Fail)
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With effect from 19th July 2010, changes have been introduced to back to education allowance (BTEA) to increase flexibility in terms of accessing the scheme.

The period for which a person is required to be on a qualifying social welfare payment before accessing BTEA was reduced from 12 months to 9 months (a 2 year qualifying period continues to apply to participants coming from Illness Benefit). 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, a person in certain circumstances can avail of BTEA to resume studies in a second or subsequent year of a third level course whereas prior to July, a person could only apply for BTEA if s/he was commencing year one of a course. This also applies to people who are granted an exemption from a period of their third level course. A person who completed earlier year(s) of his/her third level course on a part-time basis but is now getting a jobseeker's payment, may apply for BTEA to continue the course on a full-time basis.

The back to education scheme covers courses of education from second level to higher diploma level in any discipline [level 8 in the National Framework of Qualifications (NFQ)] and to a Graduate Diploma in Education (Primary and Secondary Teaching; level 9 in NFQ) which add significantly to a person's employability. BTEA will not usually be approved if a person holds a qualification equivalent or higher than the qualification for which the application has been received. Other postgraduate qualifications (level 9 or level 10) including a Masters qualification are not included.

However, a small number of cases have arisen where a college has granted an exemption from the requirement to hold a primary degree and has admitted a person to a Master's course on the basis of relevant life experience. In the context of the ongoing monitoring of the operation of the scheme, it has been decided to extend entitlement to the back to education allowance in these instances on an exceptional basis.

The focus of the back to education allowance is to assist those who are most marginalised and distant from the labour market to acquire the necessary education to improve their chances of becoming independent of the social welfare system. People in possession of a third level qualification have already achieved a high level of academic attainment which should impact positively on their employment prospects. Furthermore, the scheme was never intended to be an alternative form of funding for people entering or re-entering the third level education system.

The Government has devoted significant resources to the back to education allowance. This year the budget for the scheme is €169.76m. The number of participants on the back to education scheme in the 2009/2010 academic year was 20,808 which represented a 79% increase on the previous year. As of 12th November 2010, in the region of 24,500 participants were approved for the back to education allowance.