BTEA & illness benefit are there exceptions

Ms.Moxy

This is a bit ling winded so please bear with me

I have read through other threads and found some useful info but I am still unclear as to how or if would qualify for BTEA. Here is my predicament... Having worked steadily and paid taxes since I left college over 10 years ago I had to leave my job for medical reasons ( back injury) . In an attempt to change the type of work I am able to do without adversely affecting my health I returned to college in Sept. 2009 ( not qualifying for a grant as I already have a level 8 degree and am enrolled in a level 8 programme again) I paid my own fees and was supporting myself through part time work. All was going well until late sept. when I suffered a ruptured disk and had to go on illness benefit as I could not work. I am wondering if I will qualify for BTEA this coming Sept.? I know it says in other threads you need to be on illness benefit for 2 yrs but I wonder is there anyway around this or if they make exceptions ? It appears my only options would be
1. to be on illness benefit for the next 2 yrs
2.come off illness benefit & go on Job seekers for a year and then apply for the BTEA
I just want to get back out working ( and paying taxes ) as soon as possible in a career that is not going to harm my health...

I would be going into 2nd year of my course as I have managed to keep up my studies thank god for the internet and notes being available online ) . There is a good chance that I may still be on illness benefit till Sept. That would be almost a year so I am wondering if I would qualify or is there some other way I would qualify for it?

Any advice or suggestions would be very much appreciated. thank you

snubbleste

The Btea may not be granted if you have a degree already.
Your best bet is to get more information regarding your eligiblity and then make an appointment with a jobs facilitator in your local SWO and impress on them your determination and why this is good for you and your employmant prospects.

gigawatt

if you are on illness benefit you may study provided that you get an exemption to study from the deparment. ring them and ask to speak to someone about exemptions. do not tell them you are already in education as they wont give you the exemption. tell them youve applied for a course and been accepted onto it and you'd like to do it as you cant work and youre going mad at home, that you may be able to have some kind of a chance of getting back to work if you can just do this course. they should ok it and send you a letter to state you've been granted an exemption.
stay on illness benefit dont go on jobseekers as you wont get an exemption on jobseekers and also your prsi is not affected if you are on illness benefit but it is if you are on jobseekers.
forget about your studies for this semester, approach the academic advisory office in your college and explain what has happened to you and they should allow you to pick up your studies again in september.
while you are on illness benefit you are entitled to student grants as your payment is not means tested. after a year or 18months on illness benefit apply for invalidity pension ( not disability allowance) or btea. im not sure if you will get btea at that stage as they have a strict stipulation that you may not have started your course of studies before you apply for it. hope this helps

Ms.Moxy

Thank you for both for your advice I am managing to keep up my studies and would prefer to do that if I can rather than miss a semester. ( the quicker I can finish college the sooner I can get back to work )
I think I should get my exemption for studying while on the illness benefit first of all as suggested.

Should I go to the community welfare officer re: the illness benefit and studying or should it be the social welfare office I go to? Its all new to me and its so confusing as to who the hell does what job in what office.. maybe its just me but it would make more sense to have everything in the one office. They certainly make it hard to know what your entitled to an where to go :mad:. I applied for a grant and have been told I won't get any type of a grant becuase the course I am doing is the same level as my previous degree from 10 years ago, is this right?
thanks

gigawatt

as far as i know you need to go to the social welfare not the cwo to sort this out. with re to your grants i think that if you got them once you cant get them again, but i am not sure, ring the higher edu grants dept and ask them. i am concerned that if you ask the illness benefit dept to grant you an exemption and you tell them you are alrwdy studying they may not give you the exemption, may be better to say youre not studying but i dunno... they can be funny about about it