asked the Minister for Defence if he will grant free CIE travel to wives of IRA pensioners.
Ceisteanna—Questions. Oral Answers. - Free Travel Scheme.
29.
The free travel scheme for veterans of the War of Independence is on the same lines as that for old age pensioners. The Minister for Finance, usually in the context of the annual budget, reviews as sympathetically as possible the facilities available under these schemes and decides whether any extension can be granted.
Is the Minister aware that the scheme operates only in the case of a husband and wife travelling together? Where the wife travels alone she is not given this facility. Would the Minister consider extending it?
The general position is that the husband and wife must travel together. This would be a matter for the Minister for Finance not only in the context of the veterans of the War of Independence but also in the context of every other old person in the country.
Is it true that the widow of a veteran can get free travel facilities?
I cannot answer that specifically. If the Deputy corresponds with me, I will let him know.
The widow of a veteran can avail of the free travel facilities. It is rather ironic that if an Old IRA man is in a Dublin hospital and his wife wishes to visit him, she cannot avail of this facility, but she can avail of the free travel facility offered by the Department to go to the removal of the remains if he dies. Would the Minister not extend this facility to the wives of Old IRA pensioners who travel to see their husbands in a Dublin hospital or in hospitals outside the area where they live?
The matter of free travel for veterans, and that includes all sorts of people who never fought in the War of Independence, is a matter for the Department of Finance. I have made representations, as I told the Deputy this morning, in relation to this matter. If the Deputy wishes to be mischievous, he can.