Séamus Brennan (Dublin South, Fianna Fail)

The free travel scheme is available to all people living in the State aged 66 years or over. All carers in receipt of carer's allowance and carers of people in receipt of constant attendance or prescribed relative's allowance, regardless of their age, receive a free travel pass. It is also available to people under age 66 who are in receipt of certain disability type welfare payments, such as disability allowance, invalidity pension and blind person's pension. People resident in the State who are in receipt of a social security invalidity or disability payment from a country covered by EU regulations, or from a country with which Ireland has a bilateral social security agreement, and who have been in receipt of this payment for at least 12 months, are also eligible for free travel.

The scheme provides free travel on the main public and private transport services for those eligible under the scheme. These include road, rail and ferry services provided by companies such as Bus Átha Cliath, Bus Éireann and Iarnród Éireann, as well as Luas and services provided by more than 80 private transport operators. The free travel scheme applies to travel within the State and point to point cross-Border journeys between here and Northern Ireland. In line with the Government objective to put in place an all-Ireland free travel scheme for pensioners resident in all parts of this island, I am committed to significantly improving the North-South element of the current arrangements.

There have been a number of requests and enquiries regarding the extension of entitlement to free travel in Ireland to Irish-born people living outside Ireland, or to those in receipt of pensions from my Department, particularly in Britain, when they return to Ireland for a visit. I have examined the reply given by the European Commission to a parliamentary question from Proinsias De Rossa MEP in the European Parliament. The reply indicates that to extend the free travel scheme to people in receipt of an Irish pension and living abroad could be discriminatory under EU law. I have also been advised that it would not be possible to extend entitlement to free travel simply to Irish-born people living abroad as to do so would also be contrary to European legislation, which prohibits discrimination on the grounds of nationality.

However, I am determined to explore all options and I have raised the issue in meetings with the Commissioner for Employment and Social Affairs. Officials from my Department have met with European Commission officials on two occasions in an effort to clarify the legal issues involved. I am keeping this issue under close review and contacts with the European Commission are ongoing.

See this speech in context