Trevor Sargent
Question:85 Mr. Sargent asked the Minister for Social Welfare the plans, if any, he has to give a companion pass to disabled persons who are eligible themselves for a free travel pass but are unable to travel alone. [17056/95]
Written Answers. - Free Travel Passes.
Free travel companion passes have been available since 1990 to persons who qualify for free travel as the recipients of social welfare type payments in respect of a disability and who, on account of their disability, are unable to travel alone. The free travel companion pass enables a person 16 years of age, or over, to accompany the pass holder free of charge. The majority of companion pass holders are either blind or mentally handicapped.
Currently, the passes are available to the following:
—recipients of blind person's pension from my Department,
—people getting disabled person's maintenance allowance from a health board who are medically certified that they are unfit to travel alone, and
—recipients of invalidity pension from my Department who are medically certified that they are permanently wheelchair bound.
Any extension of the free travel companion pass to include other categories of disabled people, who are unable to travel alone, would have cost implications which would have to be considered in the context of available resources.