Seanad Éireann díospóireacht -
Friday, 3 Jul 2009

Vol. 196 No. 10

Jobseeker’s Allowance.

Senator Paschal Donohoe

This matter concerns an issue brought to my attention with regard to the difficulty in retaining jobseeker's allowance when a person receiving that allowance returns to full-time education. My understanding of the attitude of the Department of Social and Family Affairs towards people seeking to return to education is that the policy is to allow jobseekers to return to full-time education for certain schemes to ensure their training and development is maintained and accelerated during the period when they are out of work. This is a smart policy that is right for our economy and for the individual receiving the allowance who wants to go back to education to better himself or herself.

Someone raised this with me because he wants to do a master's degree in law. He understood that he would be able to go back to college and continue to receive most, if not all, of the allowances he is receiving now. He checked and was told it was the case. When he was accepted on the course and went to his local social welfare office to make the necessary arrangements he was told that the master's degree would not qualify for those allowances.

He has done some research on other schemes that would allow him to retain the money he is receiving, for example a higher diploma. This delivers the same number of Further Education and Training Awards Council, FETAC, points as the master's degree he wants to do but if he did a higher diploma he would continue to receive the money whereas he cannot receive it on the master's course.

The overall approach of the policy is to allow people to go into full-time education when they are not working. Postgraduate courses form a large part of full-time education. A master's degree is as legitimate and important a way to do further education as a higher diploma. This appears to be an anomaly in the policy. I would appreciate if the Minister of State could clarify Government policy on this and whether somebody who returns to college to do a master's degree can receive jobseeker's allowance as is the case for many other equivalent higher education courses.

Deputy Michael Finneran

I am taking this Adjournment debate on behalf of my colleague, the Minister for Social and Family Affairs, Deputy Mary Hanafin. Since its introduction, the underlying objective of the back to education allowance scheme has been to equip people on social welfare payments with qualifications that will enable them to obtain employment in the labour market. It is a second chance educational opportunities scheme for people on welfare payments who wish to participate in full-time education and who would not otherwise be able to do so.

The allowance replaces the applicant's existing social welfare income and, in addition, an annual €500 cost of education allowance is payable. Participants may also continue to receive any secondary benefits to which they have been entitled. The scheme has been modified in the recent supplementary budget to reduce the qualifying period. In general, an applicant must be in receipt of a relevant social welfare payment for three months if pursuing a second level course or 12 months if pursuing a third level course. In order to support activation of the unemployed, the qualifying period for the third level option is reduced to nine months for persons who are participating in the national employment action plan process or are approved by a Department facilitator. People who are awarded statutory redundancy may access the scheme immediately, provided an entitlement to a relevant social welfare payment is established prior to commencing an approved course of study.

The Government has devoted significant resources to the back to education allowance. Some €519 million has been allocated over the lifetime of the National Development Plan 2007-13. This year, €87.8 million is available. The number of participants has increased significantly in recent years. The number of people on the scheme at the end of the 2008-09 academic year was 11,646 which is 31% higher than the previous academic year.

The back to education allowance is an important part of the overall strategy to provide opportunities for unemployed people to upskill in order to enhance their prospects of entering or returning to the labour force. Following a review of the scheme in 2002, the third level option was re-focused on people doing a primary degree and since 2003, the postgraduate option of the back to education allowance is payable only to persons who wish to pursue a postgraduate course of study that leads to a higher diploma qualification in any discipline or to persons in pursuit of a graduate diploma in education, primary and secondary teaching. It is not available to a master's qualification.

The objective of the scheme is to assist those most marginalised and most distant from the labour market to acquire the necessary education to improve their chances of becoming independent of the social welfare system. The scheme targets assistance for the maximum numbers in greatest need and at present there are no plans to extend the back to education allowance scheme to persons pursuing other types of postgraduate courses including a master's degree. At this time, it is considered necessary to target scarce resources at those most in need and enabling as many people as possible to get a primary degree is the priority. The scheme will continue to be monitored in the light of the changed economic circumstance in order to ensure that it continues to meet its objectives.

Senator Paschal Donohoe

I thank the Minister of State for his response. I appreciate that this does not fall within the remit of his Department. A consequence of this policy is that the State will continue to pay people for doing nothing but if they wish to return to college to pursue a master's degree which in many cases is equivalent to a H.Dip. it will not give them the money to do so. Unless I am missing something this is cost-neutral. The State will give social welfare payments to which a person is entitled and for which the person has paid tax but will take them away if the person decides to go to college to pursue a master's degree. This is counter-productive. If the State is giving people money to which they are entitled while they are unemployed surely it should give it to them in conditions that allow them to develop themselves.

Deputy Michael Finneran

I will bring the Senator's comments to the Minister. I have made a note of them and the Senator may be contacted again regarding the scheme.

The Seanad adjourned at 1.20 p.m. until 2.30 p.m. on Tuesday, 7 July 2009.