Eoin Ó Broin (Dublin Mid West, Sinn Fein)
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610. To ask the Minister for Employment Affairs and Social Protection the reason that children with disabilities are not eligible for the free travel scheme; and if she will consider extending the scheme to include those under 16 years of age. [14401/22]

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 approximately 1,025,000 customers with direct eligibility.  The estimated expenditure on free travel in 2022 is €95 million.

It is important to note that a person in receipt of a qualifying payment receives the pass on the basis of that primary payment and not on the basis of their underlying medical condition.  While medical evidence will be required to determine eligibility for certain social welfare schemes, it does not generally entitle a person to free travel.  The one exception to this is those who are blind – who, in many cases, will have entitlement from childhood.

If the Free Travel scheme were to be extended to all children under 16 who have a disability, 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.

While consideration is always given to any requests to improve or extend eligibility to the free travel scheme, uncoupling the link between receipt of particular social welfare payments and eligibility for the free travel scheme would so fundamentally alter the scheme that it would move it away from being a social welfare measure to being a general transport initiative.

While my Department does not provide a free travel pass to children aged under 16 who have a disability, my Department does provide additional support in the form of the Domiciliary Care Allowance.  The Domiciliary Care allowance is a monthly payment of €309.50 to the carer of a child with a disability.  The allowance may be used for the additional costs involved in caring for the child and this may include additional transport costs. 

Support is also available under the Supplementary Welfare Allowance scheme (SWA).  A travel supplement may be awarded 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 person'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.

I hope this clarifies the matter for the Deputy.