Róisín Shortall (Dublin North West, Labour)
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Question 251: To ask the Minister for Social and Family Affairs her views on extending the travel scheme to persons who suffer from medical conditions such as epilepsy, which render it impossible for them to drive. [24557/08]

Mary Hanafin (Dún Laoghaire, Fianna Fail)
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The free travel scheme is available to all people living in the State aged 66 years or over. All carers in receipt of carer's allowance and carers of people in receipt of constant attendance or prescribed relative's allowance, regardless of their age, receive a free travel pass. It is also available to people under age 66 who are in receipt of certain disability type welfare payments, such as disability allowance, invalidity pension and blind person's pension. People resident in the State who are in receipt of a social security invalidity or disability payment from a country covered by EU Regulations, or from a country with which Ireland has a bilateral social security agreement, and who have been in receipt of this payment for at least 12 months, are also eligible for free travel.

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, as well as Luas and services provided by over 80 private transport operators. The proposal to extend the free travel scheme to those with certain conditions is one of a range of proposals made to extend the free travel scheme. Further extensions to the scheme could only be considered in a Budgetary context and taking account of the financial and other needs of those not covered by the existing arrangements.