Joe Higgins (Dublin West, Socialist Party)
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138. To ask the Minister for Social Protection to set out the measures in place to financially assist undergraduate and postgraduate students with children; the measures she will implement to give assistance to such students where existing payments and assistance are insufficient to allow for continuation in study; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [38153/14]

Joan Burton (Dublin West, Labour)
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The Department has a range of training and education schemes available to assist jobseekers in their efforts to return to employment. Whereas the Department of Education and Skills has the lead role in supporting students, this Department focuses resources on supporting jobseekers to the return to work by upskilling. The Back to Education Allowance (BTEA) provides an approved jobseeker with the cash equivalent of their prior rate of social welfare payment while they are participating in full-time education. Jobseekers under 26 year olds on an age-related jobseeker’s payment receive an increased weekly rate of €160 subject to means. Given the nature of BTEA, the Department has no plans to extend payments beyond income support or to compensate for other individual costs arising from pursuing full-time education.

The Supplementary Welfare Allowance (SWA) scheme can provide immediate and flexible assistance for those in needsubject to certain terms and conditions. A person in full-time education is not usually considered eligible for SWA, save where exceptional circumstances arise in the form of a single payment to help meet essential, once-off, exceptional expenditure, which a person could not reasonably be expected to meet out of their weekly income.

A recent measure introduced along with Minister for Children and Youth Affairs, is the joint After-School Child Care initiative launched between both of the Departments. It is targeted to support those who engage in activation processes and who enter into training or employment. The scheme builds on the existing supports provided by the Department of Children and Youth Affairs in the child care sector through which child care is provided to some 40,000 children of low-income parents at reduced rates. These include the Community Childcare Subvention (CCS) and the Childcare Education and Training Support (CETS) schemes.

People seeking assistance or wishing to establish eligibility for this range of supports should contact their local DSP Intreo Centre or local office. Further information is available on the Department’s website (www.welfare.ie).