Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 9 October 2012
312. Deputy Clare Daly asked the Minister for Social Protection if she will consider implementing a scheme whereby immediate family members of patients who are in long term hospital care due to the seriousness or terminal nature of their illness, in specialist hospitals or facilities, far from the family home, will be furnished with a travel pass to enable them to visit [42702/12]
View answerThe free travel scheme is currently available to all people living in the State aged 66 years or over, to carers and to people who are in receipt of certain disability type payments. The scheme permits customers to travel for free on most CIE public transport services, LUAS and a range of services offered by up to 90 private operators in various parts of the country. Customers of the scheme who are married, cohabiting or in a civil partnership receive a pass that allows their spouse/civil partner/cohabitant to travel with them for free. Certain incapacitated customers can get a companion pass which allows any person over age 16 years to accompany them for free.
There are currently in excess of 740,000 customers eligible for free travel and when spousal and companion passes are taken into account, there are over 1.1 million customers with some free travel eligibility. The cost of the scheme has risen substantially over the last 10 years from almost €46 million for almost 608,000 customers in 2001 to over €75 million for 726,000 customers in 2011. In line with the Government decision, expenditure on this scheme has been frozen since 2010.
In addition, under the supplementary welfare allowance scheme the Department of Social Protection may award a travel supplement to assist with ongoing or recurring travel costs that cannot be met from the client’s own resources and are deemed to be necessary. Where the travel costs are non-recurring, the supplementary welfare allowance scheme provides for exceptional needs payments to be made to assist with essential, once-off expenditure in exceptional circumstances. 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 am not in a position to consider any improvements to the Free Travel Scheme at this time. There are considerable challenges ahead to protect, as far as possible, the key income supports provided by my Department which impact in some way on the lives of almost every person in the State. To help ensure the future sustainability of the free travel scheme, a review is being carried out by officials from my Department, the Department of Transport, Tourism and Sport, the Department of Public Expenditure and Reform and the National Transport Authority. The review is in the early stages.
