Maurice Quinlivan (Limerick City, Sinn Fein)
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1186. To ask the Minister for Employment Affairs and Social Protection the number of students that availed of the back to education allowance in 2019 and 2020. [20179/21]

Heather Humphreys (Cavan-Monaghan, Fine Gael)
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The Back to Education Allowance Scheme (BTEA) is designed to support second chance education. It enables eligible persons to pursue education and to continue to receive income support for the duration of a course of study.

There were 7,300 students in the 2019/2020 academic year pursuing education while supported with a weekly BTEA allowance. There are currently approximately 6,400 students supported through the BTEA.

Government has provided €96.5 million for BTEA in 2021. This represents a considerable investment in supporting participants to acquire the necessary education and skills to re-enter the labour market.

I trust this clarifies the matter for the Deputy.