Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 2 November 2010
393 Deputy Bernard J. Durkan asked the Minister for Social Protection if he has had any discussions with the authorities in other jurisdictions in relation to the current application by his Department of the habitual residency clause; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [40285/10]
Amharc ar fhreagra394 Deputy Bernard J. Durkan asked the Minister for Social Protection the steps he will take to alleviate hardship caused by his Department’s application of the habitual residency clause; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [40286/10]
Amharc ar fhreagraI propose to take Questions Nos. 393 and 394 together.
The requirement to be habitually resident in Ireland was introduced as a qualifying condition for certain social assistance schemes and child benefit with effect from 1st May 2004. A person who does not satisfy the habitual residence condition is not eligible for specified social welfare payments, regardless of citizenship, nationality, immigration status or any other factor. The purpose of the habitual residence condition is to safeguard the social welfare system from abuse by restricting access for people who are not economically active and who have little or no established connection with Ireland.
I am not aware of any country that makes its assistance schemes freely available to all persons without some condition as to nationality or residence. Determination of a person's habitual residence is made in accordance with Section 246 of the Social Welfare Consolidation Act 2005, as amended. The factors set out in this legislation have been derived from European Court of Justice case law which examined the concept of habitual residence in the context of social welfare benefits. That case law also confirms that including a habitual residence condition for social assistance payments where persons have had little or no link to the employment market is not in conflict with the freedom of movement rights within the EU.
The habitual residence condition does not apply to exceptional needs or urgent needs payments under the supplementary welfare allowance scheme. These payments may therefore be used to meet the immediate needs of any person who is in need, but they cannot be availed of on a continuing basis in a way that undermines the purpose of the habitual residence condition. These payments can however be extended to facilitate voluntary return of an EU citizen to their home State if they so wish. In the case of asylum seekers or illegal migrants, voluntary repatriation may be arranged through the International Organisation for Migration funded by the Department of Justice and Law Reform, and the community welfare service will assist in meeting the interim needs while that is being arranged.
395 Deputy Bernard J. Durkan asked the Minister for Social Protection if it is intended to ease the qualifying guidelines for the back to education allowance scheme in line with the number of unsuccessful applications received in the current year; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [40287/10]
Amharc ar fhreagra396 Deputy Bernard J. Durkan asked the Minister for Social Protection the number of back to education allowance awards made by his Department in each of the past three years and to date in 2010; his plans to increase these numbers in line with current economic requirements and thereby provide for the country’s future economic needs; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [40288/10]
Amharc ar fhreagraI propose to take Questions Nos. 395 and 396 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 social welfare to continue to receive a payment while pursuing an approved full-time education course that leads to a higher qualification than that already held. With effect from 19th July 2010, changes have been made to the qualifying conditions of the back to education scheme to reflect the present economic situation.
The period for which a person is required to be on a qualifying social welfare payment before accessing BTEA was reduced from 12 months to 9 months (a 2 year qualifying period continues to apply to participants coming from Illness Benefit). 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.
In addition, a person can avail of BTEA to resume studies in a second or subsequent year of a third level course whereas prior to July, a person could only apply for BTEA if s/he was commencing year one of a course. This also applies to people who are granted an exemption from a period of their third level course. A person who completed earlier year(s) of his/her third level course on a part-time basis but is now getting a jobseeker's payment, may apply for BTEA to continue the course on a full-time basis.
These enhancements build on other improvements made to the scheme in recent years in response to the changing economic climate: from September 2007, the qualifying period for illness benefit was reduced from 3 years to 2 years; from September 2008, the cost of education allowance, which is an additional annual payment made to cover the cost of books and materials, was increased from €400 to €500; from September 2009, the 6 month waiting period for those pursuing second level courses was reduced to 3 months.
The number of participants on the Back to Education Scheme in the 2009/2010 academic year was 20,808 which represented a 79% increase on the previous year. The number of participants in the 2008/2009 academic year also represented an increase of 31% on the previous academic year. As of 22nd October in the region of 21,500 participants were approved the Back to Education Allowance. Due to the nature of the scheme a significant number of applications are processed in October and indications are that BTEA numbers will increase noticeably again for this academic year. (Table 1 below details number of participants in the previous 3 academic years).
|
Year |
Total |
|
2007/08 |
8,883 |
|
2008/09 |
11,646 |
|
2009/10 |
20,808 |
The scheme will continue to be monitored in order to ensure that it continues to meet its objectives.
