Vol. 430 No. 6
17 Miss Harney asked the Minister for Social Welfare his views on whether it is discriminatory that married persons can take their spouse on bus-train journeys on free travel passes and single persons, particularly those with a disability, cannot name a companion on their travel passes.
Free travel under my Department's scheme is available to all people in the State who are 66 years and over and to certain incapacitated people who are in receipt of a social welfare type payment in respect of their incapacity. The free travel pass issued under the scheme is normally valid only in respect of the pass-holder. However, in the case of a married couple, where one partner qualifies for a free travel pass the other partner may travel free when accompanying the pass-holder.
In 1990 I introduced the free travel companion pass which is aimed primarily at incapacitated people who are unable to travel alone and who would otherwise be unable to benefit under the free travel scheme. The companion pass is a special version of the free travel pass which enables a companion to travel free with the pass-holder. In such cases the companion may be any one who is over 16 years of age.
Free travel companion passes are available to people in receipt of blind pension from my Department or a disabled person's maintenance allowance from the health board. Companion passes are also available to people who were in receipt of such payments but who had to give them up because they are now in receipt of old age pensions or because they are now in residential care. Consequently, incapacitated single people in that category already benefit from the companion pass. As I announced last month, companion passes will also be available from next month to people who are in receipt of invalidity pensions and who are wheelchair-bound.
Any further extension of the companion pass to groups not already covered would have financial implications which could only be considered in the light of available resources.
