Liam Lawlor
Ceist:15 Mr. Lawlor asked the Minister for Social Welfare if he will review the students summer job scheme with the view to making the scheme statutory. [12937/96]
Written Answers. - Student Summer Job Scheme.
Cecilia Keaveney
Ceist:30 Cecilia Keaveney asked the Minister for Social Welfare the economic sense of paying more to keep a student on unemployment assistance instead of having them take up a place on a student summer job scheme in view of the fact that the scheme will cost a maximum of £600 over a six to 17 week period, whereas unemployment assistance at £62.40 per week would amount to anything up to £1,060.80 over 17 weeks or £748.80 over 12 weeks. [12929/96]
Cecilia Keaveney
Ceist:38 Cecilia Keaveney asked the Minister for Social Welfare if he will review the cases of students who are caught on a technicality when they change course from a diploma to a degree, thereby having no course number and therefore being deemed ineligible for the student summer job scheme. [12928/96]
Austin Deasy
Ceist:42 Mr. Deasy asked the Minister for Social Welfare if he will restore the additional £200 payment to students whose parents are reliant on social welfare payments as part of the student summer job scheme in view of the financial hardship that the removal of this payment will cause; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [13036/96]
Micheál Martin
Ceist:52 Mr. Martin asked the Minister for Social Welfare the plans, if any, he has to review the operation of the student summer job scheme in order to increase the rate of allowance paid to students and to expand the scope of the scheme to include all post leaving certificate students. [11993/96]
Joe Walsh
Ceist:93 Mr. J. Walsh asked the Minister for Social Welfare the plans, if any, he has to review the student summer jobs scheme. [13160/96]
I propose to take Questions Nos. 15, 30, 38, 42, 52 and 93 together.
The underlying purpose of the student summer job scheme is to provide income support for the less well off third level students who are debarred from qualifying for unemployment assistance during the summer months by virtue of the provisions of section 126 of the Social Welfare (Consolidation) Act, 1993.
Priority therefore is being given to enabling the maximum number of eligible students who have no other means of support to participate within the overall financial allocation for the 1996 scheme.
My objective this year was to provide as many places as possible within the financial allocation of £10.2 million for students who are debarred from qualifying for unemployment assistance. Students who still have a legal right to claim unemployment assistance during the summer period, such as mature students and those who have completed a course of study, are not deprived of income support and therefore are not eligible for the scheme.
The hourly rate of pay was increased by me to £3 last year and this increased rate applies again this year. Post leaving certificate, PLC, students are, in general, not eligible for the scheme as the vast majority of them will have their courses completed this summer and are entitled to claim unemployment assistance during the summer period if they fail to obtain employment. However, a small proportion of PLC students, who have not completed multi-year courses, are being accepted for this year's scheme as they are not entitled to claim unemployment assistance.
The scheme was never intended for those who are entitled to claim unemployment assistance. To include such students would squeeze out the more needy students.
The non-statutory nature of the scheme allows some measure of flexibility in its operation and administration. For example, this year I was able to allow students who reach 18 years during the course of the scheme to participate from their 18th birthday without the need for amending legislation. There are however certain advantages in having the scheme statutorily based and I will consider this in the context of next years scheme.
The primary reason for the decision to discontinue the payment of the £200 allowance to students whose parents are reliant on social welfare payments was to allow the maximum number of eligible students to avail of the scheme this year within the budget allocation of £10.2 million.
A review of the 1996 scheme will be carried out later in the year when the scheme is finished. I have no plans to evaluate the scheme until all the relevant information and statistics are available to me during the latter half of the year.