Billy Timmins
Question:24 Mr. Timmins asked the Minister for Social, Community and Family Affairs if a person who opts for the VTOS scheme will lose secondary benefits; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [20562/97]
Other Questions. - Vocational Training Opportunities Scheme.
The vocational training opportunities scheme is an educational opportunities scheme for unemployed people and lone parents which is administered by the Department of Education and Science. In order to qualify for participation, applicants must be aged 21 or over and be signing on the live register or in receipt of a one parent family payment for at least six months.
In general, participants on the scheme retain entitlement to those secondary benefits, such as fuel allowance, Christmas bonus and rent allowance, to which they have an entitlement on commencement of their course of study. Where a VTOS course ceases and the person returns to the live register, he or she resumes entitlement to unemployment payment, including secondary benefits where appropriate, at the point where he or she left off. I am not aware of particular difficulties in relation to the retention of secondary benefits but there is a range of such benefits, some of which are not within my Department's direct responsibility. If the Deputy has a particular case in mind, I would be glad to have it examined.
Discussions are currently under way with the Department of Education and Science about the further development of VTOS in the context of the expansion of my Department's back to education programmes. The question of secondary benefits is among the issues under discussion in that context.
I am aware of one parent who went on a VTOS course on which allowances were paid but all the positions were full and because she had not been unemployed for 12 months she could not apply for the other course, although places were available. How can a compromise be reached there?
This also relates to secondary benefits. Why is the Department obliged to take account of notification by FÁS where a person is converting from class JO to class A, in order to refuse secondary entitlements? This is a disincentive to participation in community employment schemes.
The last question is not strictly related to VTOS but that issue is now coming to the fore, particularly with the Christmas bonus due to be paid in the next few weeks. It first arose some years ago when a number of pressure groups sought to have class A contributions paid by CE employees. That has the advantage of allowing people to claim unemployment benefit when they come off the scheme but the downside is that they do not receive secondary benefits such as the Christmas bonus. I accept that is causing some difficulty.
In response to Deputy Naughten, the administration of VTOS is not within my Department. As to the spaces available, discussions are ongoing between my ministerial colleague, Deputy Martin, and me about an enhancement of the schemes concerned with bringing people back into education in order to give them the skills to avail of the ever increasing job vacancies.
(Written Answers follow Adjournment Debate).