Willie Penrose
Question:83 Mr. Penrose asked the Minister for Social and Family Affairs if she will expand and extend the scope of the free travel scheme; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [13609/03]
Priority Questions. - Free Travel Scheme.
Michael Ring
Question:85 Mr. Ring asked the Minister for Social and Family Affairs if vouchers will be issued to the holders of the free travel pass from her Department to those who live in remote rural areas with no public transport; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [13607/03]
I propose to take Questions Nos. 83 and 85 together.
The free travel scheme is generally available to all people living in the State aged 66 years and over. It is also available to carers and people with disabilities who are in receipt of certain social welfare payments. The 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 semi-State companies, such as Bus Átha Cliath, Bus Éireann and Iarnród Éireann, as well as services provided by more than 50 private transport operators. The vast majority of these private contractors operate in rural areas. The underlying feature of the scheme is the use of spare capacity on these transport services.
I am always willing to consider applications from licensed private transport operators who may wish to participate in the free travel scheme. However, while my Department pays transport providers to operate the free travel scheme, it is not in a position to provide transport services where none exists.
I am aware that research has shown that those who are most marginalised by lack of access to transport in rural areas include the elderly and the mobility impaired and that the provision of accessible, affordable and acceptable local transport can make a very important improvement in quality of life for these people. In this regard the rural transport initiative has selected 33 community groups to receive funding to provide innovative community based transport services on a pilot basis in rural areas.
This initiative is being managed by area development management on behalf of the Department of Transport and funding of approximately €6 million has been provided for this purpose through the national development plan. As free travel pass holders clearly benefit from this initiative, I contributed €500,000 in the last budget towards its cost, thereby ensuring free travel pass holders have full access to these community based transport services.
The travel needs of those in rural areas are best met through improvements in the overall transport infrastructure. In this regard, the experience gained from the schemes operating under the rural transport initiative will be important when developing future rural transport policy. Significant improvements have been made in the free schemes, including the free travel scheme, in recent budgets both in terms of the qualifying conditions and the coverage of the schemes. I will continue to review the operation of these schemes with a view to identifying the scope for further improvements as resources permit.
The Government programme includes a proposal to put in place an all-Ireland travel scheme for pensioners resident in all parts of this island. This will require discussions and agreement with the relevant authorities and transport providers on both sides of the Border. Work on the implementation of this proposal will commence as soon as possible.
Is it not the position that a free travel pass is the first item pensioners applying for a pension receive from the Department? Is it not also the position that these are put in a drawer or on a mantelpiece and that for many people they amount to no more than a document from the Department which will not be utilised? Why is this the case? The reason is that many older people live in rural and remote parts of the country where there is no access to public transport. How many free travel passes are utilised and how many issued?
Will the Minister agree to carry out a full review of the free travel pass scheme in the context of usage of multiple modes of transport? Will she also agree to create a simple voucher system to allow transport operators to obtain full reimbursement from the Department for free travel pass holders? Such a measure would extend the scope of the free transport scheme to cover those elderly people most affected by the lack of transport in rural areas, that is, those who cannot access public transport, despite holding a free travel pass because none is available near their homes. This problem is pervasive in rural areas where the free travel pass is useless to the vast majority of its recipients.
What progress is being made on the all-Ireland travel scheme? What discussions have taken place with the Minister's counterparts north of the Border to ensure this innovation will be available to many people throughout the island as soon as possible?
The Deputy will appreciate that we have some tentative difficulties with regard to the all-Ireland travel pass. Progress will be made on the initiative at official level and I hope we will be able to address the issue at political level in due course. Discussions on the proposal will soon commence. As the Deputy will be aware, people may travel to Northern Ireland using the free travel pass, but may only use one point of access.
The total expenditure on free travel last year was €46.2 million. The cross-Border scheme currently costs €3 million while spending on private travel operators and CIE is €2.8 million and €40.4 million respectively.
The scheme from which the concept developed was originally introduced to address spare capacity, particularly in CIE. Trinity College carried out a review of its operation in 2000, which examined the issue of vouchers, widely regarded at the time as the correct approach to take. However, having considered the recommendations of the review and the alternatives to the current scheme, I have been advised that a voucher system would be more complicated and less feasible than the current scheme and would undermine some of its fundamental aspects.
The rural transport initiative came about as a result of the study, which proposed that a community fund be established to which people qualifying for the travel pass would have access. The community development approach is excellent and would, if expanded, address the concerns being brought to our attention as it entails greater consultation with the community. This approach involves finding out what are the main areas of need, for example, whether the scheme is used to bring people to hospital and so forth. Thus far, the assessment suggests this approach, as opposed to a voucher system, offers the best way forward. The issue will be evaluated in the near future. ADM has provided the €500,000 already allocated for the initiative.
Like every other Member, I would like to see the free travel scheme extended throughout the country. Its implementation to date has been more than successful. The best way forward may be to make available a central fund. I appreciate that while everyone receives a free travel pass, many do not have access to buses or trains.
Does the Minister accept that we now have a different attitude to taxis? Thousands of people have started to use taxis in the past ten years. It is not beyond the ability of the Department to develop a simple scheme allowing pensioners to use them. During a visit to the Houses today, some of the pupils of St. Louis school, Rathmines, suggested pension books could be issued containing vouchers which would allow people to use taxis and the taxi companies could then draw down the costs from the Department. Such an initiative would not cost a fortune and would be workable. Its time has come. Many people in rural Ireland have free travel passes, but they do not have public or private transport. The time has come to look at a way of allowing them to use the scheme. The Minister mentioned an all-Ireland scheme. However, we are part of Europe. These travel passes should be allowed to be used across Europe. Europe is great for introducing rules and regulations for this country. The Minister should ensure that people from Ireland can use their free travel pass in any part of Europe. It is the least we can do for the elderly who have helped to build up the State. When people retire, they should be able to use their free travel pass across Europe. What will the Minister do in that regard?
When the Deputy is on this side, he can find the money.
I will deliver.
Other recommendations were made in the review. There were 12 priority recommendations of which eight have been implemented. They included companion passes and the extension of the scheme for people over 75 years of age and for those in receipt of carer's allowance. There has been a huge change in the free travel scheme per se and that has resulted in costs. Work is ongoing in the Department in terms of establishing a rational and transparent basis for reimbursing the suppliers of free travel services. Perhaps we could take into consideration the views expressed. One would have to provide for a hackney service because there are few taxis outside the main centres of population. One would have to consider the price, the number of vouchers issued etc. As that could be cumbersome, it was decided to consider a community fund to provide a community transport service which, in many ways, is similar to a taxi service. The free travel pass can also be used for essential services to allow people to travel within the main suburban areas. It costs €46 million to provide the service to people who currently use the travel pass. I am concerned about expanding that in a more complicated way. Perhaps we could look at the proposals put forward by the Deputies in the context of the ongoing work on the recommendations.
Will the Minister reconsider the companion pass because some of the criteria are restrictive? An older person often needs a young person to help him or her to get from one place to another.
As regards Irish people in the UK who qualified for the pre-1955 pension, will the Minister give them the free travel pass as a start? These people built this country in the 1940s and 1950s. Many of them were given one way tickets and they now live in Camden Town, Cricklewood and other such places. Will we acknowledge their existence and give them the free travel pass? I compliment the Minister on the work she is doing in terms of the rural link initiative. It is worthwhile and it shows the Minister is aware of the concerns of rural people. The Minister should consider extending the free travel pass to Irish people in the UK. It would help some of them, who are elderly, to return to their native shores once or twice a year.
I have been involved in a couple of pilot projects in Mayo where we considered that matter. It is part of the proposals from the Department of Foreign Affairs to address the issue of emigration. We will consider that issue. It is probably cheaper to use the Internet than it is to pay for the mainline service providers. Those issues, which are well thought out, will be taken into consideration. They are part of the recommendations in the review carried out by the Department of Foreign Affairs.
I must ask Deputy Ring to look up the Internet.