Timmy Dooley (Clare, Fianna Fail)
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32. To ask the Tánaiste and Minister for Social Protection if she will provide an update on the proceedings of the interdepartmental working group to examine and report on the current and future operation of the free travel scheme; her position on the removal of the cap on the scheme; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [31942/15]

Joan Burton (Dublin West, Labour)
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The Free Travel Scheme permits customers to travel for free on most CIE public transport services, LUAS and a range of services offered by up to 90 private operators in various parts of the country. Free travel is also available on cross border journeys to and from Northern Ireland. Customers aged 66 years and over can travel for free on journeys within Northern Ireland. There are currently approximately 836,000 customers in receipt of free travel.

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.

The interdepartmental group has concluded its work and the report is receiving attention at high levels within my Department and I expect to see a copy of the report shortly. While I will read it with interest, I have stated on a number of occasions that I believe that this is a very good scheme which should remain in place, and I am committed to its retention. I was pleased, therefore, to note that in its “Statement of Government Priorities, 2014-2016” the Government committed itself to the full retention of the scheme.

With respect to the cap on the scheme imposed by the previous Government under the National Recovery Plan, 2011-2014, I am pleased that it has been possible to remove this restriction, and I understand that routes have been added to the scheme over the last year, and new routes and operators can now apply to enter the scheme, where they have received the appropriate licensing from the National Transport Authority.