297. Deputy Patrick Nulty asked the Minister for Social Protection if mature students who are on back to education allowance are eligible for any other additional funding or supports to participate in the Erasmus exchange programme as part of their degree course; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [5150/14]

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 certain social welfare payments to continue to receive a payment while pursuing an approved full-time education course that leads to a higher qualification than that already held. The BTEA scheme does not attract any other additional funding or supports from my Department for a student participating in an Erasmus programme.