asked the Minister for Social Welfare whether he will consider the extension to widows of the travel concessions recently granted to old age pensioners.
Ceisteanna—Questions. Oral Answers. - Travel Concessions for Widows.
20.
Free travel facilities are already available to widows aged 70 and over who receive pensions from my Department.
Is the Minister considering including non-contributory widows in the scheme?
No. The question of extending the scheme has been suggested in respect of a number of categories and I do not intend including them at the moment. There are 13,000 widows getting contributory pensions.
The prohibition could not arise on the ground of cost because the numbers involved have not inflated. Therefore, it would seem to be logical that the free transport, which was introduced for the purpose of assisting under-privileged categories, should be extended to the people I mentioned.
There are 61,000 of them.