John McGuinness (Carlow-Kilkenny, Fianna Fail)
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Question 329: To ask the Minister for Social and Family Affairs if he will consider introducing a voucher scheme to allow older persons entitled to free public transport to avail of private transport in cases in which there are no public transport facilities readily available; the likely cost of such a scheme; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [12209/05]

Bernard Durkan (Kildare North, Fine Gael)
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Question 333: To ask the Minister for Social and Family Affairs the number of persons eligible for free travel; if he is in a position to extend the scheme; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [12240/05]

Bernard Durkan (Kildare North, Fine Gael)
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Question 334: To ask the Minister for Social and Family Affairs if he will consider reducing the age for qualification for free schemes; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [12241/05]

Séamus Brennan (Dublin South, Fianna Fail)
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I propose to take Questions Nos. 329, 333 and 334 together.

The free travel scheme is available to all people living in the State aged 66 years or over. It is also available to carers and to people with disabilities who are in receipt of certain social welfare payments. At the end of 2004, 624,000 free travel passes had issued with expenditure on the scheme estimated at €53.4 million. 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, services on Luas, as well as services provided by more than 80 private transport operators. The vast majority of private contractors providing services under the scheme operate in rural areas. The underlying feature of the scheme is the use of spare capacity on these transport services.

I am always willing to consider applications from licensed private transport operators who may wish to participate in the free travel scheme. However, while my Department pays transport providers to operate the free travel scheme, it is not in a position to provide transport services where none exist. Various alternatives to the existing system, including the use of vouchers, have been examined. A study published in 2000 under the Department's programme of expenditure reviews concluded that a voucher type system, which would be open to a wide range of transport providers including taxis and hackneys, would be extremely difficult to administer, open to abuse and unlikely to be sufficient to afford an acceptable amount of travel. This position remains unchanged.

The issue of access to public transport in rural areas is being addressed through the rural transport initiative, which is being managed by Area Development Management, ADM, on behalf of my colleague, the Minister for Transport. My Department contributes annually to the initiative to ensure that free travel pass holders continue to have full access to community-based transport services. I understand the Minister for Transport is making arrangements for the rural transport initiative to be made a permanent fixture in the annual Government spending plans and that he intends to listen to those involved in the pilot phase of the project to establish how best the scheme can work from 2007 onwards. In addition, I will continue to review the operation of the free travel scheme with a view to identifying the scope for further improvements as resources permit.

With regard to the household benefits package of free schemes, which comprises the electricity-gas allowance, telephone allowance and television licence schemes, this package is generally available to people living permanently in the State, aged 66 years or over, who are in receipt of a social welfare payment or who fulfil a means test. The package is also available to carers and people with disabilities under the age of 66 who are in receipt of certain welfare type payments. People aged over 70 years of age can qualify regardless of their income or household composition. Widows and widowers aged from 60 to 65 whose late spouses had been in receipt of the household benefit package retain that entitlement to ensure households do not suffer a loss of entitlements following the death of a spouse.

A range of proposals has been made to extend the household benefits package of free schemes to other groups, including groups of people who are under age 66 years. These are kept under review in the context of the objectives of the scheme and budgetary resources.