Heather Humphreys (Cavan-Monaghan, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I thank the Deputy for raising this important issue. The free-travel scheme is currently available to all people living in the State aged 66 years or over, to carers and to customers under 66 who are in receipt of certain disability-type payments. Approximately 978,770 customers are in receipt of free travel. However, over 1.6 million people currently benefit from the scheme when companion and spousal passes are taken into account.

The scheme allows those eligible to travel for free on most CIÉ public transport services, Luas and a range of services offered by up to 80 private operators.

Prior to the Covid-19 outbreak, requests by transport operators to join the scheme were received periodically, with payment rates negotiated based on surveys of free-travel passengers.

Due to the continuing impact of Covid-19 measures and restrictions on transport service provision, the uncertainty around numbers opting to travel and the consequential lack of reliable survey data, it is a difficult time for operators to enter the scheme. Survey outcomes in the current operating environment are unlikely to reflect true free-travel passenger numbers in more normal times. The situation is kept under constant review and it is expected that as restrictions ease and services return to more normal levels, new operators will join the scheme.

Over the past ten years the annual cost to the Exchequer of the free-travel scheme has risen by 29% to €95 million. Of this, €1.5 million is provided to the rural transport programme, improving links between local or rural services and scheduled bus and rail services.

Any decision to extend the free-travel scheme to include all publicly licensed bus routes would have cost implications for the Exchequer and would have to be considered in the context of overall budget availability.

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