Vol. 547 No. 1
1230 Mr. Perry asked the Minister for Education and Science if, further to Parliamentary Question No. 1119 of 3 October 2001, his attention has been drawn to the fact that a person (details supplied) in County Sligo was ineligible for grant aid in 2001 and wishes to do a leaving certificate vocational training opportunities scheme course in September 2002; if this person will be eligible for a grant; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [1776/02]
The vocational training opportunities scheme is confined to adults over 21 who are in receipt of unemployment assistance/benefit, a one-parent family payment, disability allowance/benefit or signing for credits. A person must be in receipt of one of above allowances for at least six months in order to be eligible to join VTOS. Dependent spouses of these categories are also eligible. Time on FÁS can count towards this six-month requirement. However, in order to receive a training allowance, a person must be getting a relevant social welfare payment immediately before starting the programme. The training allowance replaces the social welfare allowance for the duration of the programme. If the person in question has fulfilled these requirements in September, 2002, she will be eligible to join the VTOS. However, where demand for participation on the programme exceeds supply, as is the position generally, it is a matter for the vocational education committee to select participants from among the applicants.
