Seán Fleming (Laois-Offaly, Fianna Fail)
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6. To ask the Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform if his Department has been consulted in respect of the review of the free travel pass; if the limit in respect of expenditure on the scheme expired at the end of the troika programme; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [29675/14]

Seán Fleming (Laois-Offaly, Fianna Fail)
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Is the Minister personally involved in the review of the free travel pass scheme, the cost thereof and how it is implemented? Does the Minister support a cutback to that scheme and a reduction in the amount that is provided by the taxpayer, primarily to elderly people to enable them to use their daily bus and train pass?

Brendan Howlin (Wexford, Labour)
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In March 2012, the Ministers for Social Protection and Transport, Tourism and Sport agreed to establish an interdepartmental working group to examine and report on the operation and future development of the free travel scheme. The review has been led by the Department of Social Protection but also comprised officials from the Department of Transport, Tourism and Sport, the National Transport Authority and my Department.

The terms of reference included the objectives of the scheme, eligibility, the extent of service provided, data on usage of the scheme, fraud and control measures and the interaction between stakeholders in the scheme. As part of the review, meetings have been held with elderly people, carers, people with disabilities and transport operators. It is expected that the review will be concluded in the coming weeks and considered by the Government in the normal course. The Tánaiste and Minister for Social Protection has indicated her endorsement of the scheme in recent days.

Under the terms of the national recovery plan 2011 to 2014, introduced by the previous Government, expenditure on the free travel scheme has been capped at the 2010 allocation of €77 million per annum, reflecting the tight budgetary constraints in which we are operating.

Seán Fleming (Laois-Offaly, Fianna Fail)
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Now that the national recovery plan has concluded and the troika has left, the Minister is not bound by the €77 million cap. Will he give a commitment that the allocation will not be reduced, now that he is actually free to reduce it?

Brendan Howlin (Wexford, Labour)
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I am free not to reduce it.

Seán Fleming (Laois-Offaly, Fianna Fail)
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The Minister referred to data on usage of the scheme. Payments to the various contractors have been set for several years. Will he take into account the fact that some of them, including the main State provider, Bus Éireann, have cut some of their routes. Bus Éireann’s Expressway routes, for example, in many constituencies, including the Minister’s, now bypass towns and use motorways instead. Several thousand people who had access to these services can no longer avail of them because they are no longer in place. While the operator has cut services, it is still receiving the full payment under the scheme. In recent days some private operators in County Donegal have spoken about not accepting the bus pass on some of their routes and withdrawing from the scheme because of the conditions the Minister has attached to it. Will the Minister ensure services are maintained and that people will have an entitlement to use their bus pass on all bus routes?

Brendan Howlin (Wexford, Labour)
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The Deputy is making a compelling case for the review under way. We need to examine all of the elements to which he referred. What is provided? Is it value for money for the State? Is there fraud? Is the scheme being availed of by the people who need it? Are they utilising it to the full? These are the questions that will be answered in the review which will be published once it is concluded. We want to maintain services. The Deputy has raised questions about routes which are more appropriate to the Minister for Transport, Tourism and Sport. I have no control over the routes operated by Bus Éireann or any other service provider.

Seán Fleming (Laois-Offaly, Fianna Fail)
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Yes, but the Minister is part of the review which is examining usage data which include information on routes. I know it will be up to the line Department to make these decisions, but the Minister is part of the review. If he allocates €77 million to a scheme each budget day, he is entitled to know what services are being provided. Services have been reduced, but the Minister is still paying the same amount. Service providers need to be spoken to about this, especially in some of the rural areas where there may not be a train service and people rely on the bus system. This is a wider issue because of the problem of rural isolation. The National Transport Authority does not have the funding to provide local subsidised transport routes in areas where there are no major commercial services operating. This needs to be taken into account because the emphasis in the case of some of the bus companies is on moving people from city to city at the expense of those in provincial towns and rural areas.

Brendan Howlin (Wexford, Labour)
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The Deputy has made some valid points well. I hope all of these issues will be addressed in the review being led by the Department of Transport, Tourism and Sport. I do not know if the Deputy is involved on the transport committee, but he might well attend it to have a full and robust debate on this issue. Perhaps the individual service providers might be asked to attend the committee once the details are presented.