Imelda Munster (Louth, Sinn Fein)
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2028. To ask the Minister for Social Protection her plans to increase funding for the free travel pass in 2018. [27478/17]

Regina Doherty (Meath East, Fine Gael)
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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 80 private transport operators. There are currently approximately 882,000 customers with direct eligibility to free travel with an annual allocation of €80 million. The scheme is available to all people aged over 66 living permanently in the State. To qualify for the scheme, applicants who are under age 66 must be in receipt of a qualifying payment. These 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.

Allocation of funding for the free travel scheme is dependent on a number of factors, including the number of people in receipt of qualifying benefits, the number of participating companies and routes, and fare levels. Other factors that can affect the overall cost include the number of operators who participate in the scheme and potential future fare increases by those operators.

Consequently, the funding for the subsequent 12 months is agreed in the context of the Budget process each year and as such no decision has been made yet to increase funding to the free travel scheme.

My Department is now in a process with Department of Transport and the National Transport Authority with a view to determining appropriate funding arrangements for the scheme but the amount of funding made available for the scheme in any year is still ultimately a matter for Government to decide.

I hope this clarifies the matter for the Deputy.