Catherine Byrne (Dublin South Central, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I thank the Senator for tabling this Commencement matter, to which I am responding on behalf of the Minister for Employment Affairs and Social Protection, Deputy Regina Doherty, who apologises for being unable to come to the Chamber.

The Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection provides a free travel scheme as a secondary benefit for older people and certain people with disabilities who are customers of the Department. The scheme provides free travel on the main public and private transport services for people who are eligible under it. There are approximately 914,000 customers in receipt of free travel. A person who regularly travels significant distances for hospital treatment for the illnesses described by the Senator will already have this entitlement if he or she is in receipt of invalidity pension or disability allowance. Therefore, any extension would have to involve others who have no such entitlement.

The objective of the free travel scheme is to ensure older people and people with disabilities remain active within their communities. Any extension of eligibility under the scheme to include people who are not customers of the Department would change this objective and radically alter the nature of the scheme. Any such scheme would require a more significant operation than that which administers the Department’s free travel scheme because, potentially, it would have to grant and withdraw a significant number of passes each year from people who are not customers of the Department. It would have to do this using information which would ultimately be provided by doctors or hospitals. All free travel passes issued by the Department entitle the holder to unlimited free travel on the main public and private transport services. The Department would have no way of limiting the use of the pass to ensure it was being used for travelling to and from hospitals for treatment only.

Any increase in eligibility under the scheme would require a substantial increase in the level of funding provided, which currently stands at €90 million per annum. The social welfare payments that allow people under the age of 66 years to receive free travel passes include disability allowance, invalidity pension, carer's allowance and partial capacity benefit. Disability allowance and invalidity pension are long-term illness payments, for which people who are receiving hospital treatment may qualify. Therefore, persons in receipt of such payments are already eligible for free travel.

Under the supplementary welfare allowance scheme, the Department may award a travel supplement if it is warranted by the circumstances of a case. The supplement is intended to assist with ongoing or recurring travel costs that cannot be met from the client's own resources and are deemed to be necessary. Individuals who must travel significant distances to and from hospital for treatment may apply for a travel supplement. Each decision is based on consideration of the circumstances of the case, taking account of the nature and extent of the needs and resources of the person concerned. Therefore, the Minister is not in a position to extend the free travel scheme in the manner proposed by the Senator.