Bernard Durkan (Kildare North, Fine Gael)
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Question 115: To ask the Minister for Social Protection further to Parliamentary Question No. 63 of 14 June 2012, if she would be willing to grant back to education allowance in view of the fact that the person in question is only two months short for the qualifying payment and they have been on illness benefit since December 2012; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [31415/12]

Joan Burton (Dublin West, Labour)
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A person wishing to pursue the back to education allowance (BTEA) must satisfy a number of conditions such as being of a certain age, in receipt of a prescribed social welfare payment for a specified time period, commencing a full-time course of study leading to a recognised qualification in a recognised college and progressing in the level of education held by the client with reference to the national framework of qualifications.

In the case of illness benefit, the eligibility criteria for participation in BTEA require a person to be in receipt of the benefit for at least two years prior to commencement of their approved course of study. A waiting period is considered essential given that BTEA confers entitlement to income support for an extended period and is considered necessary in the context of targeting scarce resources at those most in need. It is not possible, within the scope of the BTEA scheme, to authorise an application for payment where the basic qualifying conditions have not been satisfied.