Frances Fitzgerald
Question:150 Ms F. Fitzgerald asked the Minister for Social Welfare the estimated cost of extending the free travel companion pass to carers in their own right. [3631/95]
Written Answers - Free Travel Scheme.
The free travel companion pass is a variation on the ordinary free travel pass. It is available to persons who qualify for free travel as recipients of social welfare payments in respect of a disability and who, on account of their disability, are unable to travel alone. The majority of companion pass holders are either blind or mentally handicapped.
As announced in the budget earlier this month, the free travel companion pass is being extended to existing free travel passholders who are being cared for by a recipient of a carer's allowance. This will enable the carer or any able person and the person being cared for to travel free when travelling together. The cost of extending free travel to recipients of a carer's allowance in their own right is estimated to be of the order of £200,000 per annum.