Willie O'Dea (Limerick City, Fianna Fail)
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239. To ask the Minister for Social Protection the programmes or schemes under his Department's remit which assist or support persons to retrain or re-skill at third level institutions or equivalent; the cost of each of these schemes, in tabular form; the number of participants in each scheme; if there is an age limit for applying for such schemes; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [15163/17]

Leo Varadkar (Dublin West, Fine Gael)
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The Student Universal Support Ireland (SUSI) grant payable by the Department of Education and Skills represents the primary support for persons pursuing Post Leaving Certificate Courses (PLCs) and higher education undergraduate courses.

My Department administers the Back to Education Allowance (BTEA) scheme which is an educational opportunities scheme for persons in receipt of certain social welfare payments wishing to pursue second or third-level courses of education subject to meeting the qualifying conditions. It is intended to assist those who are 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 is aligned with the student support schemes under the Department of Education and Skills. In the case of jobseekers, this allows recipients to participate in a course of education while unemployed and continue to receive an income support.

In general, an applicant must be at least 21 years of age before the start date of an approved course of study. The BTEA can be approved for a jobseeker aged at least 18 but under 21 years old provide that they have been out of formal education for at least two years prior to the commencement of the proposed course of study.

Expenditure on the BTEA scheme in 2016 was just over €114m and, at the end of December 2016, there were over 14,300 participants on the scheme.

I trust this clarifies the matter for the Deputy.