Dáil Éireann Debate, Thursday - 31 March 2022
317. Deputy Claire Kerrane asked the Minister for Social Protection if she will provide details of the payment rules for the training support grant; if consideration has been given to providing reimbursement for courses which have been completed and paid for by the participant given that many training courses require payment before the course is completed; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [17243/22]
View answerThe Training Support Grant (TSG), available through my Department, is designed to support quick access to short-term training where the training is not delivered by a State provider. A grant of up to €1,000 per jobseeker can be provided where an immediate skills gap is identified that represents an obstacle to taking up a job offer or accessing other opportunities. Funding for short courses up to and including QQI level 6 is available. €11m has been provided by my Department for this grant in 2022.
A case officer or Job Coach can approve a grant to meet an identified training need which forms part of the jobseekers agreed personal progression plan (PPP) or action plan to enter the labour market. All applications under the scheme require prior approval. As part of this process customers are required to submit a quotation from a training provider. After the training has been completed, the TSG is paid directly to the training provider on submission of an invoice. The scheme does not provide payments to jobseekers to reimburse training costs incurred outside of this process.
If the Deputy has a query in respect of an individual, she should provide the details of the case to my Department for review.
Full guidelines for the TSG scheme are available on www.gov.ie
I trust this clarifies the matter.
