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Back to Education Allowance Eligibility

Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 16 October 2012

Tuesday, 16 October 2012

Questions (72, 76)

Joe McHugh

Question:

72. Deputy Joe McHugh asked the Minister for Social Protection her plans with respect to including flexibility into the back to education allowance eligibility criteria; if she will consider in this context, the impact of current eligibility criteria on applicants whose jobseeker's allowance does not meet the 187 day requirement because applicants completed level five qualifications via the Department of Education and Skills job initiative programme; if she will contemplate improving the back to education allowance scheme to accommodate the progression in education of unemployed construction workers; if she will consider a specific example (details supplied) as exemplary of this inflexibility [44097/12]

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Joe McHugh

Question:

76. Deputy Joe McHugh asked the Minister for Social Protection her plans with respect to including flexibility into the back to education allowance eligibility criteria; if she will consider in this context, the impact of current eligibility criteria on applicants whose jobseeker's allowance does not meet the 187 day requirement because applicants completed level five qualifications via the Department of Education and Skills job initiative programme; if she will contemplate improving the back to education allowance scheme to accommodate the progression in education of unemployed construction workers; if she will consider a specific example (details supplied) as exemplary of this inflexibility; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [44096/12]

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Written answers

I propose to take Questions Nos. 72 and 76 together.

The back to education allowance (BTEA) scheme is a second chance education opportunities scheme designed to remove the barriers to participation in second and third level education by enabling eligible people on certain social welfare payments to continue to receive a payment while pursuing an approved full-time education course that leads to a higher qualification than that already held.

A person wishing to pursue BTEA will have to satisfy a number of conditions such as being a certain age, in receipt of a prescribed social welfare payment for a specified time period, pursuing a full time course of study leading to a recognised qualification in a recognised college and progressing in the level of education held by the client with reference to the national framework of qualifications among others. A waiting period is considered essential to enable people to engage in job search and consider options available to them. BTEA confers entitlement to income support for an extended period and to avoid distortions due to pull factors to the Live Register for the purpose of accessing schemes of this nature. The qualifying period for the second level option is 3 months (78 days) in recognition of the need for more urgent intervention for this cohort, while the qualifying period for third level courses is 9 months (234 days). A person awarded statutory redundancy may access BTEA immediately, provided an entitlement to a relevant social welfare payment is established.

Question No. 73 answered with Question No. 57.
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