Robert Troy (Longford-Westmeath, Fianna Fail)
Link to this: Individually | In context | Oireachtas source

1196. To ask the Minister for Social Protection her plans to amend the free travel scheme to cater for such persons who are not entitled to the travel scheme but that are severely ill of disabled with limited means. [34149/17]

Regina Doherty (Meath East, Fine Gael)
Link to this: Individually | In context | Oireachtas source

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 approximately 882,000 customers in receipt of free travel.

Persons resident in Ireland who are over 66 and persons in receipt of certain social welfare payments are eligible for the scheme. The social welfare payments that allow persons aged under 66 to a free travel pass include disability allowance, invalidity pension, carer’s allowance and partial capacity benefit. In most cases, if someone has a disability and is of limited means, they would be in a position to qualify for Disability Allowance, and would have an entitlement to free travel under the scheme.

There are no plans to change the eligibility criteria of the free travel scheme or to introduce discretionary passes at this time.

If the free travel scheme was to be extended to people who are not eligible for a qualifying payment, an assessment process would be required for all such applications, changing the nature of the scheme. Successive Governments have instead used existing underlying entitlements to confer eligibility for this scheme.

Under the supplementary welfare allowance scheme (SWA) the Department of Social Protection may award a travel supplement in any case where the circumstances of the case so warrant. The supplement is intended to assist with ongoing or recurring travel costs that cannot be met from the client’s own resources and are deemed to be necessary. Every decision is based on consideration of the circumstances of the case, taking account of the nature and extent of the need and of the resources of the person concerned.

Any decision to extend the free travel scheme to persons who are not in receipt of a primary qualifying payment would have to be considered in the context of overall budgetary negotiations.

I hope this clarifies the matter for the Deputy.