Information
If you are unemployed, parenting alone or have a disability and are getting
certain payments from the Department of Social Protection, you may attend a
second-or third-level education course and get the Back to Education Allowance
(BTEA). This weekly allowance is paid at a standard rate and is not
means-tested. In addition to your weekly BTEA payment, you also get an annual
Cost of Education Allowance of €500, paid at the start of each academic year.
In Budget 2012 changes were announced to the Cost of
Education Allowance. The Cost of Education Allowance will reduce from €500 to
€300. (2012)
If you want to do other types of courses not covered under the BTEA, for
example, personal development courses or general training courses you can
return to education under the Education, Training
and Development option; Part-time Education option or the
Vocational
Training Opportunities Scheme (VTOS).
Student grants
From
the 2011/12 academic year the Student Grant Scheme is divided into 2
components – maintenance grants and fee grants. You cannot get the Back to
Education Allowance (BTEA) and the maintenance component of a student grant
together unless you were getting BTEA in the 2009/10 academic year and
are continuing your studies or progressing to a new course.
Although you are not entitled to the maintenance component of the student
grant, you must still submit a student grant application form to be assessed
for a fee grant to pay your Student Contribution (formerly called the student
services charge), field trip costs and tuition fees (if payable).
If you are getting a One Parent Family Payment or a disability payment
(Disability Allowance, Invalidity Pension or Illness Benefit) you can choose to
stay on your current social welfare payment and apply for a student grant or
you can choose to transfer to the BTEA.
Read
more in our document on social welfare payments and student grants.
Study options
Two study options are available under the scheme:
- Second-level option
- Third-level option
Second-level option
You can attend a second-level course of education at any secondary,
community, comprehensive or vocational school. The course must be full-time and
lead to a certificate recognised by the Department of Education and Skills or
approved by the Further Education and Training Awards Council, for example, Junior
Certificate, Leaving
Certificate, Post
Leaving Certificate or a City and Guilds Certificate.
Third-level option
You can attend a third-level course of education at any university,
third-level college or institution, provided that the course is a full-time day
course of study and is approved by the Department of Education and Skills for
student grant purposes and/or is recognised by the Higher Education and
Training Awards Council (HETAC).
Undergraduate courses
In general you must be starting your third-level course at year one.
However, you can apply for BTEA if you:
- Did not complete your course and are returning to the second or
subsequent year of your course.
- Are exempt from part of your course because of a qualification you
received in a previous course. For example, you have a higher certificate
in a course that you now wish to pursue to degree level.
- Completed some of your course as a part-time student, but are now getting
a jobseeker's payment and will continue your course on a full-time
basis.
Postgraduate courses
You can get the Back to Education Allowance for a postgraduate course of
study that leads to a Higher Diploma (H.Dip.) qualification in any discipline
or a Graduate Diploma in Education (primary and secondary teaching). Other
types of postgraduate qualifications are not recognised for BTEA.
You will not get BTEA if you already have a postgraduate qualification.
Qualifying for BTEA
You can qualify for the BTEA in different ways depending on your age and
circumstances. You must always have been accepted onto a qualifying course. In
general you must be over 21 or over 24 for post graduate courses (see also 'Age
limits' below) and have been getting a qualifying social welfare payment.
Qualifying social welfare payments
If you have been getting Illness Benefit for 2 years or
more you can also qualify for the Allowance.
Qualifying period
For second level courses you must have been getting a qualifying social
welfare payment (see above) for at least 3 months (78 days of
unemployment*) immediately before you start the course.
For third level courses you must have been getting a qualifying social
welfare payment (see above) for 9 months (234 days of
unemployment*) immediately before you start the course.
*If you are getting a jobseeker's payment, each day you are unemployed,
except Sunday, is counted as a day of unemployment.
Time spent on BTEA, VTOS, FÁS
training courses, Fáilte Ireland Training course, Community
Employment schemes, FIT, Youthreach, Rural Social Scheme, Back to Work
Allowance, Back to Work Enterprise Allowance, Short Term Enterprise Allowance,
FÁS Job Initiative, Revenue Job Assist, Supplementary Welfare Allowance, in
prison or in Direct Provision can count towards the qualifying period. You may
go directly from one of the above schemes to Back to Education Allowance
provided you were getting one of the qualifying social welfare payments listed
above before you started the scheme. In all cases you must start your approved
course of study within 4 weeks of leaving the scheme.
Otherwise you must be getting a qualifying social welfare payment
immediately before starting an approved course of study.
If you have been awarded statutory
redundancy and are entitled to a qualifying social welfare payment
immediately before you start the course ( note that it is not necessary to
actually be receiving the payment) you can get immediate access to the BTEA
without any waiting period. You must take part in the BTEA scheme within one
year of getting statutory redundancy.
Age limits
To qualify for the Back to Education Allowance, you must be at least 21
years of age. You must be 24 for a third-level postgraduate course.
However, if you are getting Jobseeker's Allowance,
Jobseeker's Benefit or One-Parent Family
Payment for the required period (3 or 9 months), are aged between 18
and 20 and have been out of the formal education system for at least 2 years
you may qualify.
If you are aged 18 or over (over 24 for the post graduate
option) and getting Blind Pension, Disability
Allowance, Invalidity Pension or Incapacity
Supplement for the required period (3 or 9 months) you may qualify.
The Allowance has also been extended to people with disabilities who have left
Community Employment schemes and who, when beginning the scheme, were not
getting a qualifying social welfare payment. In this case, you must begin the
course within 4 weeks of finishing the scheme.
Unemployment or illness credits
If you are signing on for unemployment credits or submitting medical
certificates for illness credits, for the required period of time (either 3 or
9 months depending on your course), you may qualify to participate in the BTEA
scheme on a non-payment basis. This means that you do not get a weekly Back to
Education Allowance, but you can get the Cost of Education Allowance. This is a
once off payment at the beginning of each academic year. You continue to be
awarded credited
contributions while you are taking part in the BTEA scheme.
If you are participating in the BTEA scheme on a non-payment basis, you can
also apply for a student
grant to be assessed for the fee and maintenance component of the grant.
Other people who can qualify for BTEA
If you are the qualified adult of a person who can claim BTEA, you can
qualify for BTEA in your own right. Your spouse/civil partner/cohabitant
must have an entitlement to BTEA and must also be getting an
Increase
for a Qualified Adult in his/her social welfare payment for you for the
required period - see 'Qualifying for BTEA' above.
If you qualify for BTEA because you are an adult dependant, your allowance
is equivalent to the maximum standard personal rate of the social welfare
payment your spouse/civil partner/cohabitant is getting. You also qualify for
the annual Cost of Education Allowance. Your spouse or partner keeps his/her
entitlement to his/her personal rate of payment.
Monitoring arrangements
You must provide a certificate from the school/college confirming your
registration, commencement and attendance at the course. You must supply this
information before payment can begin. During the course of the academic year,
you may be asked to provide confirmation that you are still taking part in the
course.
If you change from a jobseeker's payment to BTEA, you do not need to sign on at your
Social Welfare Local Office while you are getting BTEA.
Rates
The Back to Education Allowance is paid at a standard rate. This means, if
you are getting a reduced rate of payment it is increased to the maximum
standard rate of payment while you are getting BTEA. If you are already getting
the maximum rate, you continue to do so.
For example, if you are getting a jobseeker's payment, you are paid a Back
to Education Allowance at the maximum standard rate of Jobseeker's Benefit or
Jobseeker's Allowance. It will include any increases you are getting for a qualified
adult and qualified
children - see 'Qualified adult' below.
Back to Education Allowance is paid in the same way as your current social
welfare payment. It is paid for the duration of the course. If you were
previously getting a jobseeker's payment, you do not get the Back to Education
Allowance during the summer period between academic years. However, you can
apply for Jobseeker's Benefit or
Jobseeker's Allowance
if you meet the qualifying conditions. You may get BTEA during the summer if
you are on work placement or work experience that is an essential part of your
course.
Qualified adult
Even though your BTEA is not means-tested, any increase for a qualified
adult may be means-tested if your spouse/partner has earnings or income in
their own right.
If you are coming to the BTEA from Jobseeker's Allowance or Disability
Allowance and if your qualified adult is earning you qualify for the full
Increase for a Qualified Adult if your qualified adult has earnings of under
€100, a half rate if they earn between €100 and €310 and no increase if
they earn more than €310. This is similar to the way an Increase for a
Qualified Adult for Jobseeker’s Benefit is calculated. The disregards that
normally apply to earnings in the means test for Jobseeker’s Allowance do not
apply. However a 'saver' clause operates to prevent a participant being made
worse off by this arrangement.
The Cost of Education Allowance
In addition to your weekly BTEA payment, you also get an annual Cost of
Education Allowance of €500, which is paid at the start of each academic
year. In Budget 2012 changes were announced to the Cost of Education Allowance.
The Cost of Education Allowance will reduce from €500 to €300 in 2012.
Some people participating in the Back to Education Allowance scheme on a
non-payment basis can also get a Cost of Education Allowance - see
'Unemployment or illness credits' above.
Keeping your secondary benefits
If you qualify for the Back to Education Allowance, you can keep your
entitlement to any secondary benefits you already have, for example, Fuel
Allowance, Rent
Supplement and Mortgage
Interest Supplement. However, any increase in income may affect your
entitlement to Rent/Mortgage Interest Supplement or the amount of supplement
you get. For example, this can happen if you move from a reduced social welfare
payment to the standard BTEA rate.
How to apply
Contact your
local second- or third-level school or college to get details of the
courses available. They will also advise you on how to get a place on the
course of your choice.
When you are accepted on a course, you should notify the Department of
Social Protection by filling in the Back to Education
Allowance application form (pdf), which is also available from your Social
Welfare Local Office.
You must get written confirmation that you are registered as a full-time day
student from the college registrar or admission officer. You will not get
payment of BTEA or the Cost of Education Allowance until you give this
confirmation letter to the Department of Social Protection.
If you are not fully registered because your college is waiting for payment
of the student contribution (formerly known as the student services charge)
from your local authority or VEC, you must get a letter from the college
explaining this so that you can be paid BTEA.
You must apply for BTEA before starting an approved course. A late
application will be accepted if there is a good reason for it being late and it
is received by the relevant section in the Department within 30 days of the
course starting.
Send your application to the section in the Department of Social Protection
that deals with your payments – see ‘Where to apply’ below.
Review and appeals
The Back to Education Allowance is a non-statutory scheme. This means that
decisions cannot be appealed to the Social Welfare Appeals Office. If you are
not satisfied with a decision you may request (in writing) a review by an
officer of the relevant Social Welfare Local Office or Department Ssection,
enclosing any new evidence in support of the review.
Where to apply
If you are getting a jobseeker's payment, you should return your application
form to your Social Welfare
Local Office.
If you are getting Illness Benefit contact:
Back to Education Section
Department of Social Protection
Social Welfare Services Office
Government Buildings
Shannon Lodge
Carrick-on-Shannon
Leitrim
Ireland
Tel:(071) 967 2616
Locall:1890 927 999
Homepage: http://www.welfare.ie
If you are getting One-Parent Family Payment, a deserted wife's payment,
Widow's, Widower's or Surviving Partner's (Non-Contributory) Pension, or
Widow's, Widower's or Surviving Partner's (Contributory) Pension contact:
Department of Social Protection
Social Welfare Services
College Road
Sligo
Ireland
Tel:(071) 915 7100
Locall:1890 500 000
Homepage: http://www.welfare.ie/
If you are getting Disability Allowance, Invalidity Pension, Blind Pension,
Incapacity Supplement or Carer's Allowance contact:
Department of Social Protection
Social Welfare Services Office
Government Buildings
Ballinalee Road
Longford
Ireland
Tel:(043) 334 0000
Locall:1890 927 770
Homepage: http://www.welfare.ie