Neasa Hourigan
Question:412. Deputy Neasa Hourigan asked the Minister for Social Protection if she will extend the free travel scheme to persons with an incurable disease; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [33174/21]
View answerTuesday, 22 June 2021
Questions (412)
Written answers
The free travel scheme provides free travel on public transport services for those eligible under the scheme. There are approximately 999,000 customers with direct eligibility, with an annual allocation of €95 million provided to fund the scheme.
People who are eligible for a free travel pass are those residents in Ireland aged over 66, those in receipt of certain social welfare payments, or those who satisfy the visual impairment condition for the blind pension.
It is important to note that a person in receipt of a qualifying payment receives the pass on the basis of that primary payment and not on the basis of their underlying medical condition. While medical evidence will be required to determine eligibility for certain social welfare schemes, it does not generally, entitle a person to free travel. The one exception to this is those who are blind – who, in many cases, will have entitlement from childhood.
If the Free Travel scheme were to be extended to all people who have an incurable disease, regardless of whether they receive a qualifying payment, a medical assessment process would be required for all such applications in order to adjudicate eligibility, significantly changing the nature of the scheme. Extra funding would also be required and accordingly, any proposed change could only be considered in the context of overall budgetary negotiations.
Under the Supplementary Welfare Allowance scheme, my Department may award a travel supplement, where the circumstances of the particular case so warrant. The supplement is intended to assist with ongoing or recurring travel costs that cannot be met from the client’s own resources and are deemed to be necessary. Every decision is based on consideration of the circumstances of the individual case, taking account of the nature and extent of the need and of the resources of the person concerned.
I hope this clarifies the matter for the Deputy.