Seán Sherlock
Question:515. Deputy Sean Sherlock asked the Minister for Social Protection the cost of transport used under public services cards by individuals, by county, in 2022 and to date in 2023, in tabular form. [25021/23]
View answerTuesday, 23 May 2023
Questions (515)
Written answers
The Free Travel Scheme was introduced in 1967 to promote social inclusion and prevent the isolation of elderly and disabled people by taking advantage of free space on public transport services.
The Free Travel Scheme is available to all persons aged over 66 and those under age 66 on certain qualified payments, who are living legally and permanently in the State. The scheme permits those who are eligible to travel for free on most CIE public transport services, Local Link, LUAS and a range of transport services offered by some 80 private operators countrywide. These operators receive payments towards the carriage of Free Travel customers across their services.
The budget allocation for the scheme for 2023 is €95 million.
The information requested by the Deputy is not held by my Department. Summary-only usage data is received by my Department from the National Transport Authority, with survey-only usage data received from private operators when joining the scheme, extending their services, or seeking a payment rate review.
I trust this clarifies the matter for the Deputy.