1936. Deputy Fionntán Ó Súilleabháin asked the Minister for Social Protection if consideration will be given to introducing a dedicated re-training and education support scheme for people who have spent significant periods outside the workforce undertaking unpaid caring and homemaking duties and who now wish to return to employment but face financial barriers to accessing education and training; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [57798/26]

My Department provides numerous supports to assist people who have been carrying out caring or homemaking duties in upskilling and returning to employment.

The Back to Education Allowance (BTEA) provides income support to people wishing to enter a full-time Further Education or Training (FET) course to improve their skills and assist them in finding quality employment. Qualifying payments include Jobseeker’s Allowance and Carer’s Allowance. Qualified adults can avail of BTEA provided they establish an entitlement to their own qualifying payment, and meet the other criteria needed to qualify for BTEA.

Under this scheme, study can be completed under the further level education or higher-level education options. Participants can attend any higher-level education course in an approved third-level institution for the higher-level education option. For the further level education option, the course must be full-time and lead to a certificate up to Level 6, as recognised by the Department of Education and Youth or approved by QQI. These can be provided by ETBs, Colleges of Further Education and Technological Universities, among other bodies. In most cases participants are required to progress their qualification level (i.e. if they possess a Level 6 qualification, they must apply for a Level 7 qualification).

Carers or homemakers returning to the workforce can benefit from Springboard+, where they can attend Higher-Level Education courses in an approved third-level institution for free. Eligibility for Springboard+ includes having been out of the work environment due to childcare or other caring obligations and require upskilling or reskilling to get back to the workforce, subject to qualifying conditions, including:

• Being on home or other caring duties for 9 of the previous 12 months, or

• Being economically dependent on a partner or spouse and having been unemployed for 9 of the previous 12 months.

Qualified adults of working age on another person’s social welfare payment can also qualify for Springboard+.

My Department has also utilised Dormant Accounts Funding over the last number of years in order to fund projects supporting the employment prospects of family carers. A Dormant Accounts funded Family Carer Measure is currently in place. The primary purpose of this measure is to support family carers, including former carers, to access employment and/or training and education supports in order to improve their current and future employment outcomes. This includes a focus on improving the future employment prospects of young carers through educational settings such as schools/training settings-related initiatives. The programme also seeks to raise awareness among and to support employers to provide employment opportunities and supports for carers.

Following a Call for Applications and a subsequent independent appraisal process eight organisations (three national and five local) were approved for funding of up to €1.2 million. The project activities began on 1 January 2025 and are due to conclude on 31 December 2026. The measure is managed by Pobal on behalf of the Department. It is my intention to put in place a successor measure in early 2027 under the Dormant Accounts Action Plan 2027.