This paper examines whether the Back to Education Allowance (BTEA) has successfully
overcome obstacles to participation by welfare recipients in 3rd level
education. The paper finds that BTEA participants require more than financial support to successfully access 3rd level
education. Additionally, the research suggests that there is a need for a strategy which proactively targets those who are most
distant from the labour market for the BTEA, and provide them with
direct assistance to
obtain a place in 3rd level. While recognising the importance of eventually removing the need
for alternative routes into 3rd level education by addressing the
inequities that exist from preschool through to the senior cycle of 2nd
level education (Tormey 2007), this paper argues that we must do everything
possible to ensure that the potential of schemes such as the BTEA is maximised, a situation which has not been achieved to date.