Timmy Dooley (Clare, Fianna Fail)
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8. To ask the Minister for Social Protection if she will provide an update on the proceedings of the interdepartmental working group set up to examine and report on the current and future operation of the free travel scheme; her position in relation to the removal of the cap on the scheme; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [23472/15]

Joan Burton (Dublin West, Labour)
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The free travel scheme provides free travel for those with eligibility on the main public and private transport services which includes road, rail and ferry services provided by companies such as Bus Átha Cliath, Bus Éireann, Iarnród Éireann, Luas and services provided by over 90 private transport operators. There are currently approximately 828,000 customers with direct eligibility with an annual allocation of €77 million. In 2012, along with the then Minister for Transport Tourism and Sport, I established an interdepartmental working group to review the free travel scheme. The purpose of the review was to examine and report on the current operation and future development of the free travel scheme. Owing to the range of policy changes implemented since its establishment, the scheme is now universally available to all persons permanently living in the State aged 66 and over as well as carers in receipt of carers allowance and certain others such as persons in receipt of disability allowance and invalidity pension. I understand that the interdepartmental group has concluded its work and I expect to see a copy of its review shortly.

With respect to the cap on funding imposed by the previous Government under the National Recovery Plan, 2011-2014, while no additional funding for free travel was provided for in Budget 2015, the Government has taken no specific decision to extend the freeze and in the “Statement of Government Priorities, 2014-2016” the Government committed itself to the full retention of the free travel scheme.