Written answers

Thursday, 28 February 2013

Department of Social Protection

Education and Training Provision

Photo of Dara CallearyDara Calleary (Mayo, Fianna Fail)
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To ask the Minister for Social Protection if he will outline the supports available for persons registering to participate in springboard; if rent allowance is available for persons registering to participate on a course in an area other than where they presently reside; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [10864/13]

Photo of Joan BurtonJoan Burton (Dublin West, Labour)
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Participation on a Springboard course will not confer any additional entitlement to receive an income support payment from the Department of Social Protection. Participants who are in receipt of a Department of Social Protection income support payment may be able to retain such payments while pursuing a Springboard course through the part-time education option (PTEO) of the back to education programme. The PTEO allows jobseekers in receipt of jobseekers benefit or jobseekers allowance who wish to pursue a part-time day or evening course of education to retain the payment subject to continuing to meet the eligibility conditions of the jobseekers payment, including being available for and genuinely seeking work. If a payment is due to cease prior to the end of a course, payment cannot be extended past the due cessation date.

Springboard participants are not disqualified from rent supplement on the grounds that they are engaged in these education courses. However, they must also meet the other qualifying conditions of the rent supplement scheme. To qualify for a rent supplement a person must have been residing in private rented accommodation (where at the commencement of the tenancy the person could have reasonably afforded the rent and has experienced a substantial change in his or her circumstances where they are now unable to pay the rent) or accommodation for homeless persons or in an institution (or any combination of these) for a period of 183 days within the preceding 12 months of the date of claim for Rent Supplement.

A person may also qualify for rent supplement where an assessment of housing need has been carried out within the 12 months preceding the date of claim and the person is deemed by the relevant Local Authority to be eligible for and in need of social housing support. Where the above requirements are met the assessment of the claim for Rent Supplement from a Springboard participant may proceed in the normal way.

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