Catherine Connolly (Galway West, Independent)
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687. To ask the Minister for Employment Affairs and Social Protection her plans to extend access to free travel to persons with epilepsy and other long-term health conditions that are ineligible to hold a driver licence as a result of their health condition; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [22325/21]

Heather Humphreys (Cavan-Monaghan, Fine Gael)
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The 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 over 80 private transport operators.  There are currently approx. 994,000 customers with direct eligibility.  The estimated expenditure on free travel in 2021 is €95 million.

In general, access to a free travel pass for those aged under 66 is linked to a person being in receipt of certain primary Social Protection payments such as Disability Allowance, Invalidity Pension, Carer’s Allowance, Blind Pension and Partial Capacity Benefit. 

Any possible extension to the eligibility criteria for free travel to include those with long-term health conditions such as epilepsy, who are not allowed to drive due to their diagnosis, regardless of whether or not they receive a qualifying payment, would have significant implications for the Free Travel scheme.  It would be expected that any such decision would immediately lead to calls for all people who had a disability and/or significant health issues to be eligible for a free travel pass.

If the Free Travel scheme were to be extended to all people who had a disability and/or significant health issues, regardless of whether they receive a qualifying payment, a medical assessment process would be required for all such applications, significantly changing the nature of the scheme and requiring additional administrative processes to be put in place in order to adjudicate eligibility.  Significant extra funding would also be required and accordingly, it could only be considered in the context of overall budgetary negotiations.

Under the Supplementary Welfare Allowance scheme, my Department may award a travel supplement, where the circumstances of the particular 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 individual case, taking account of the nature and extent of the need and of the resources of the person concerned.

I hope this clarifies the matter for the Deputy.

Gary Gannon (Dublin Central, Social Democrats)
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688. To ask the Minister for Employment Affairs and Social Protection further to Parliamentary Question No. 1207 of 21 April 2021 and a matter (details supplied), if she will include this small number of persons who without the free travel scheme are incurring significant personal costs; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [22357/21]

Heather Humphreys (Cavan-Monaghan, Fine Gael)
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While I have sympathy for all persons who incur significant travel expense in their daily lives because of a disability, extending the free travel scheme to the cohort of people highlighted by the Deputy cannot be considered in isolation.  As the 700 service users do not meet the medical conditions to be registered as blind or are not in receipt of a payment from my Department that would qualify them for a free travel pass, the provision of the free travel pass would be on the basis that their disability prevents them from holding a driving licence.

There are a range of disabilities and medical conditions that can prevent a person from holding a driving licence and to award a free travel pass to any one of these conditions in isolation would immediately result in calls for all people who are not allowed hold a driving licence because of their medical condition to receive the free travel pass.  The Department would also most likely face challenges under the Equal Status Act if they refused these calls.

As previously stated any possible extension to the eligibility criteria for free travel to include people who are deemed unsuitable to drive by the national licensing authority because of their disability would have to be considered in the overall budgetary and policy context.  It would be expected that any such extension to the eligibility criteria would have significant implications for the free travel scheme, including significant extra funding requirements.

I would again urge the Deputy to highlight to the NCBI service users the availability of support under the Supplementary Welfare Allowance scheme with ongoing or recurring travel costs that cannot be met from the client’s own resources and are deemed to be necessary. 

I hope this clarifies the matter for the Deputy.