Matt Carthy (Cavan-Monaghan, Sinn Fein)
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132. To ask the Minister for Employment Affairs and Social Protection if an eligible student can retain the back to education allowance if they are also in receipt of a stipend of €16,000 from the Irish Research Council; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [6292/21]

Heather Humphreys (Cavan-Monaghan, Fine Gael)
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The back to education allowance (BTEA) provides income support for jobseekers and others in receipt of certain social welfare payments that pursue courses of education at second or third level.  My Department has a provision of €96.5m in supports under the BTEA for 2021.

To continue to receive a BTEA payment, a student must continue to satisfy the conditions of their primary payment. A BTEA student whose eligibility is based on jobseekers or one parent family payments who have a source of income or earnings, will have this assessed in accordance with the rules of their primary payment.  This ensures that the BTEA resources are directed at those most in need of assistance.

Funding from the Irish Research Council is assessable as means under the BTEA in line with someone's primary welfare payment.  Means of up to €20,000 are permitted before a jobseekers payment rate is impacted.  Where a student receives €16,000 in a stipend and there are no other means, their entitlement to BTEA should not be impacted. All of the individual's capital will be reviewed for a means test and if the combined total is over €20,000 means will be deducted from their weekly payment.

I trust this clarifies the matter at this time.