Seán Sherlock (Cork East, Labour)
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646. To ask the Minister for Employment Affairs and Social Protection if she has met with the Minister for Further and Higher Education, Research, Innovation and Science on the role that Department will have in back to education allowance criteria. [22052/20]

Eoin Ó Broin (Dublin Mid West, Sinn Fein)
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684. To ask the Minister for Employment Affairs and Social Protection her plans to make the back to education allowance available to persons on the pandemic unemployment payment to assist them in reskilling and seeking new employment. [21523/20]

Niall Collins (Limerick County, Fianna Fail)
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720. To ask the Minister for Employment Affairs and Social Protection if she will address a matter (details supplied) regarding the pandemic unemployment payment and the eligibility criteria for third-level students; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [21952/20]

Heather Humphreys (Cavan-Monaghan, Fine Gael)
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I propose to take Questions Nos. 646, 684 and 720 together.

The back to education allowance (BTEA) provides income support for jobseekers and certain others in receipt of social welfare payments who pursue courses of education at second or third level. The main focus of the BTEA is to assist qualifying applicants to improve their educational qualifications and improve their prospects of gaining employment.

Ordinarily a person must be in receipt of a qualifying social welfare payment for at least nine months before being eligible to apply for the BTEA when pursuing a 3rd level qualification. This nine month condition is being waived for recipients of the pandemic unemployment payment wishing to return to education. Someone in receipt of the pandemic unemployment payment is required to transfer their claim to a jobseekers payment to access the BTEA.

The conditions under which the BTEA operate are the responsibility of my Department and are designed to ensure that they address the objective of supporting longer term social welfare customers into employment. The Student Universal Support Ireland (SUSI) grant payable by the Department of Further and Higher Education represents the primary support for persons pursuing education.

I trust this clarifies the matter.