Finian McGrath (Dublin Bay North, Independent) | Oireachtas source

I thank the Senator for raising this important issue, in respect of which she has put forward many valid arguments.

Before dealing with the specific issue in Carlow, I would like to point out that the free travel scheme is available to all people aged over 66, including carers and people in receipt of certain disability payments. There are currently 952,000 customers in the scheme, with an annual allocation of €95 million. The scheme permits travel for free on most CIÉ and public transport services, the Luas and some 80 private operators. Free travel is also available on cross-Border journeys and within Northern Ireland if the person is aged over 66.

As rightly stated by the Senator, the scheme was introduced to promote social inclusion and to prevent isolation of our elderly and disabled people by taking advantage of the free space on public transport services. In general, access to a free travel pass for those aged under 66 is linked to a person being in receipt of certain primary social protection payments such as disability allowance, invalidity pension, carer's allowance, blind pension and partial capacity benefit. In 1997, the scheme was extended to all registered blind people, regardless of whether they qualified for the blind person's pension or any other social protection payment.Blind people remain one of the few cohorts of people under the age of 66 who can qualify for a free travel pass while not in receipt of a qualifying social protection payment. The free travel scheme was never intended as a targeted support for people with severe mobility issues. The provision of transport services in rural areas is a matter for the National Transport Authority, which operates under the aegis of the Minister for Transport, Tourism and Sport. The rural transport programme, which operates under the brand name Local Link, provides a nationwide bus service in rural areas around Ireland. The aim of Local Link, which is managed out of 15 local offices, is to address rural social exclusion and, where possible, to integrate bus services with Bus Éireann and Iarnród Éireann networks. The Department provides €1.5 million in funding towards the rural transport programme to enable the development of better links between local rural transport and scheduled bus and rail services. I am pleased to note that efforts to enhance the provision of this service are continuing. I note that Local Link has introduced a number of new and expanded services during 2019, including services in Cork, Tipperary and Laois. In budget 2018, a further provision of €10 million was made to the free travel scheme to help more private commercial operators to join the free travel scheme for the first time, to enable existing participants to add more routes and to facilitate operators in returning to the scheme where they had previously withdrawn.

The Senator should note that under the supplementary welfare allowance scheme, the Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection may separately award a travel supplement if this is warranted by the circumstances of the case. This 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. Every decision is based on consideration of the particular circumstances of the case, taking account of the nature and extent of the need and resources of the person concerned. I can bring the valid point the Senator has raised about specific issues relating to Carlow to the attention of the Minister for Transport, Tourism and Sport. Transport is an important part of the national disability inclusion strategy, which I chair. If places like Carlow are not getting an adequate service, and if Senators from other counties feel that people with disabilities are similarly excluded, this is something that I will personally drive.