Written answers

Tuesday, 8 July 2014

Department of Social Protection

Free Travel Scheme Payments

Photo of Pádraig Mac LochlainnPádraig Mac Lochlainn (Donegal North East, Sinn Fein)
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374. To ask the Minister for Social Protection if her Department will immediately allocate funding support to the provider and licence holder of the Buncrana, County Donegal to Derry City bus route to reinstate the rights of the elderly and disabled free bus pass holders who avail of the service. [29143/14]

Photo of Joan BurtonJoan Burton (Dublin West, Labour)
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The current free travel 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 almost 90 private transport operators. There are currently over 780,000 people in receipt of free travel.

Funding for the free travel scheme was capped by the previous Government as outlined in the National Recovery Plan 2011-2014. To implement this funding cap during a time in which passenger numbers have been increasing each year the Department has had to impose a freeze on the amounts paid to companies and a complete restriction on the admittance of new companies or routes to the scheme. This has included new companies taking over previously extant routes.

Given the increasing number of recipients and the funding pressures, the Minister for Transport, Tourism and Sport and I established a working group with representatives from the two Departments, as well as the Department of Public Expenditure and Reform and the National Transport Authority to review the free travel scheme. The purpose of this review is to examine and report on the current operation and future development of the free travel scheme.

I appreciate the importance of the scheme to customers, particularly pensioners, and am aware of the closure of Lough Swilly Bus Company and the implications for travel pass holders in that area. Department officials have had discussions with the National Transport Authority on this and other matters of concern to the scheme in the context of the review of the scheme. The work of this group is expected to conclude shortly.

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