Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 16 October 2012
348. Deputy Billy Kelleher asked the Minister for Social Protection the reason clients of Rehab who have a multitude of mental and physical handicaps and who have been in receipt of free travel since they were teenagers are having their free travel taken off them when it is vital to allowing them travel to Rehab everyday; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [44720/12]
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. 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 free travel 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. My Department also provides some funding for the rural transport programme. In line with the Government decision, expenditure on this scheme has been frozen since 2010.
A temporary arrangement was put in place in 2005, whereby participants on the pilot employment programme, now known as the wage subsidy scheme (WSS), were allowed to retain their free travel pass for 3 years. New participants on the WSS were not given an entitlement to a free travel pass. In May 2009 this arrangement was reviewed and it was decided that due to the increasing numbers participating on the WSS, and the fact that WSS is not a qualifying payment for free travel, it was not possible to further extend the temporary arrangement.
As regards the loss of free travel benefits, I acknowledge that this is difficult for the people concerned. The measure was always intended to be a temporary measure for a very small group of people. In receiving the pass over a number of years, however, they have benefitted from free travel which is not available to other groups who could make an equally strong case.
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.
