Seán Crowe (Dublin South West, Sinn Fein)
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Question 182: To ask the Minister for Social Protection her plans to expand the eligibility for the back to education allowance. [9832/11]

Joan Burton (Dublin West, Labour)
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The back to education allowance (BTEA) is one of a range of activation supports and policies with the objective of assisting social welfare recipients to improve their life chances by facilitating access to employment, work experience, education and training. The focus of BTEA 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. The BTEA scheme can offer participation in second and third level education by enabling eligible people on social welfare to continue to receive a payment while pursuing an approved full-time education course that leads to a higher qualification than that already held.

The Programme for Government 2011-2016 includes a commitment to resource a Jobs Fund that will finance a number of measures which will play an important in enhancing the employability skills of jobseekers. BTEA and all other relevant measures will be considered under this commitment.

Question No. 183 answered with Question No. 65.