Willie O'Dea (Limerick City, Fianna Fail)
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222. To ask the Minister for Social Protection her plans to extend the free travel pass to include pensioners from other European Union countries; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [21842/15]

Joan Burton (Dublin West, Labour)
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The free travel scheme is available to all people aged over 66 living permanently in the State. Applicants who are under age 66 must be in receipt of a qualifying payment in order to qualify for the scheme. The qualifying payments for those aged under 66 are invalidity pension, blind pension, disability allowance, carer’s allowance or an equivalent social security payment from a country covered by EC Regulations or one with which Ireland has a Bilateral Social Security Agreement. Accordingly, there are currently approx. 828,000 customers with direct eligibility with an annual allocation of €77 million.

The current scheme provides free travel on the main public and private transport services in Ireland 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 90 private transport operators. Free travel is also available on cross border journeys to and from Northern Ireland and within Northern Ireland for customers aged 66 years and over.

Any decision to extend the free travel scheme would have budgetary consequences and would have to be considered in the context of budget negotiations.