Alan Dillon (Mayo, Fine Gael)
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449. To ask the Minister for Employment Affairs and Social Protection if consideration is being given to automatically awarding a free travel pass to persons who lose their driver licence entitlement for one year due to seizures as a result of epilepsy; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [29286/21]

Neasa Hourigan (Dublin Central, Green Party)
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450. To ask the Minister for Employment Affairs and Social Protection her plans to ensure persons who lose their driver licence due to a diagnosis of epilepsy or breakthrough seizures are provided automatic access to a free travel pass; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [29288/21]

Heather Humphreys (Cavan-Monaghan, Fine Gael)
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I propose to take Questions Nos. 449 and 450 together.

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. 996,000 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. 

Extending the free travel scheme to people with epilepsy during the period in which they are disallowed from driving cannot be considered in isolation.  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 to hold a driving licence because of their medical condition to receive the free travel pass and could result in challenges under the Equal Status Act.

If the Free Travel scheme were to be extended to all people who are not allowed to drive due to their disability, 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.

Paul McAuliffe (Dublin North West, Fianna Fail)
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451. To ask the Minister for Employment Affairs and Social Protection if the case of a person (details supplied) will be reviewed. [29294/21]

Heather Humphreys (Cavan-Monaghan, Fine Gael)
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The Social Welfare Appeals Office has advised me that an appeal by the person concerned was registered with that office on 3 December 2020.  The appeal was referred to an Appeals Officer on 9 February 2021 and the Appeals Officer's summary decision was issued to the person concerned on 19 April 2021.  

An Appeals Officer's decision is generally conclusive. However, an Appeals Officer may revise his/her decision under Section 317 of the Social Welfare Consolidation Act 2005, if new evidence, new facts or any relevant change of circumstances come to light after a decision is made.  The Chief Appeals Officer may revise a decision of an Appeals Officer under Section 318 of the Act, if it appears that a mistake was made in relation to the law or the facts.

A request for a review under Section 318 of the Act was received from the Department of Social Protection on 14 May 2021.  In his decision the Appeals Officer stated that his interpretation of Article 20(1)(a) of the Social Welfare (Consolidated Claims, Payments and Control) Regulations 2007 was that the person concerned should be deemed incapable of work for the period 10 October 2020 to 3 December 2020 because her GP had certified that she was unable to attend work during that period.  In her review under Section 318 of the Act, the Chief Appeals Officer found that the provisions of Article 20(1)(a) of the Regulations did not apply in this case and that the Appeals Officer erred in law in applying the provisions to the appeal.  The Chief Appeals Officer revised the Appeals Officer's decision accordingly on 24 May 2021 and the person concerned was advised of this outcome on that date. 

A Section 318 review is the final stage in the appeal process.  Any person who is dissatisfied with the Chief Appeals Officer's revised decision may appeal that decision to the High Court on any question of law under Section 327 of the Social Welfare Consolidation Act 2005.  

The Social Welfare Appeals Office functions independently of the Minister for Social Protection and of the Department and is responsible for determining appeals against decisions in relation to social welfare entitlements.

I trust this clarifies the matter for the Deputy.