Róisín Shortall (Dublin North West, Labour)
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Question 316: To ask the Minister for Social Protection if he will provide a copy of the agreement between his Department and Dublin Bus regarding the funding provided to the company under the free travel scheme; the way the funding is determined and the basis on which the amount is altered each year; how often the contract or agreement is reviewed; the way free pass usage is surveyed and accounted for; the extent of route analysis that is carried out to determine if services are actually provided to areas where there is a significant concentration of older persons and other free travel claimants; his plans, if any, to review the amount of remuneration paid to Dublin Bus in view of the significant deterioration of services to poorer areas and areas with an older population profile as proposed in its current reorganisation of services on the north side of Dublin [41435/10]

Éamon Ó Cuív (Galway West, Fianna Fail)
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The free travel scheme is a long standing arrangement in place since 1967 following extensive discussions at the time with CIÉ. Payment was agreed on the basis of fares foregone. Over the years there were negotiations to increase the benefit and value of the scheme including the agreement of relevant discounts. The current rate of payment is reviewed annually and adjusted on the basis of changes in rates of fares and numbers of eligible customers. However, the level of service provided by Dublin Bus does not feature in the current method of calculation of payment.

My Department pays the CIÉ Group centrally in respect of transport services provided by the Group for pensioners and other categories of eligible customers under the free travel scheme. The apportionment of payment between the three constituent companies, Bus Éireann, Bus Átha Cliath and Iarnród Éireann is a matter for the CIÉ Group to determine.

Route analysis and provision of transport services is a matter for my colleague, the Minister for Transport.

My Department is working towards the replacement of the current paper based free travel pass with a public services card during 2011. It has been agreed that the public services card for customers in receipt of the free travel scheme will incorporate a contactless integrated ticketing chip for travel entitlement on services which have been enabled with smart card reading devices. In conjunction with the roll out of integrated ticketing, the use of this technology will facilitate the provision of more accurate usage data.