Jack Wall (Kildare South, Labour)
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241. To ask the Minister for Social Protection her views on correspondence (details supplied) regarding financial supports available to lone parents in college; her plans to address the concerns raised; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [20670/15]

Joan Burton (Dublin West, Labour)
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The Department remains committed to supporting lone parents who wish to pursue education and training courses.

That is why the Department has decided to allow one-parent family payment (OFP) recipients who are midway through an education course and who are scheduled to transition out of the OFP scheme on 2 July, 2015, to remain on the OFP payment until their course finishes. In some cases, progression to a new course will be considered as part of this arrangement and, as such, customers should discuss their options with their local Intreo Centre/Social Welfare Office.

Customers who are also in receipt of the SUSI grant from the Department of Education and Skills (D/ES) can retain both their OFP payment and their grant, including the maintenance portion of it, until their course finishes – subject to the normal D/ES conditions for the grant. The maintenance grant will continue to be disregarded for means on the OFP payment.

All customers who are scheduled to transition out of the OFP scheme from 3 July, 2015, onwards, will have a youngest child who has just turned 7 years of age. For that reason, any of these customers who are mid-course will be moved to the jobseeker’s transitional payment. They will then have seven years to complete their course before moving to the JA scheme, where the normal JA scheme rules in relation to participation on full time education courses will apply. In addition, any SUSI grant recipients who are in receipt of the jobseeker’s transitional payment are able to receive the full benefit of the grant as it is disregarded for means purposes under the jobseeker’s transitional payment.