Bernard J. Durkan
Ceist:44 Mr. Durkan asked the Minister for Social, Community and Family Affairs if he will consider further liberalisation of the free travel entitlements; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [5563/01]
Written Answers. - Social Welfare Benefits.
Seamus Kirk
Ceist:322 Mr. Kirk asked the Minister for Social, Community and Family Affairs if he will consider allowing companion pass holders to use their pass when the principal travel pass holder is hospitalised; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [5821/01]
Bernard J. Durkan
Ceist:331 Mr. Durkan asked the Minister for Social, Community and Family Affairs if he will consider improvements in the free travel scheme with particular reference to the need to facilitate to a greater extent eligible persons who do not have ready access to public transport; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [6010/01]
Bernard J. Durkan
Ceist:332 Mr. Durkan asked the Minister for Social, Community and Family Affairs his proposals to extend the free travel scheme, with particular reference to the need to cater for patients attending hospital during peak hours; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [6011/01]
Liam Aylward
Ceist:338 Mr. Aylward asked the Minister for Social, Community and Family Affairs if he will arrange to have vouchers issued to the holders of the free travel pass from his Department who live in remote rural areas with no public transport; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [6049/01]
I propose to take Questions Nos. 44, 322, 331, 332 and 338 together.
The free travel scheme is available to all people living in the State aged 66 years or over. It is also available to carers and people with disabilities who are in receipt of certain welfare type payments.
The free travel scheme provides free travel on the main public and private transport services. These include road, rail and ferry services provided by semi-State companies such as Bus Átha Cliath, Bus Éireann and Iarnród Éireann, as well as services provided by some 80 private transport operators. The vast majority of these private contractors operate in rural areas.
My Department is always willing to consider further applications from licensed private transport operators who may wish to participate in the free travel scheme. A review of the free schemes was published in April last year by the Policy Institute, Trinity College Dublin. The review considered the difficulties involved in access to public transport services. In this regard it notes that there are two main groups affected, those who have a disability which prevents them using the service and those for whom a service does not exist, which mainly affects those living in rural areas. This problem, which is unrelated to the free travel scheme, is part of a wider social and infrastructure problem, affecting all those who are disadvantaged and who can neither afford their own transport or avail of access to public transport.
The review notes that while my Department pays transport providers to operate the free travel scheme, it is not obliged to provide services where none exist, nor is it in a position to provide vehicles accessible to people with disabilities. These are matters for the transport providers concerned and for my colleague the Minister for Public Enterprise who has responsibility for public transport. The review examined a number of alternatives to the existing system, including the use of vouchers. It considered that a voucher type system, which would be open to a wide range of transport providers including taxis and hackneys, would be complicated and less feasible than the current system. Voucher schemes, by their nature, can introduce stigma to a scheme. The use of vouchers is not in keeping with a fundamental aspect of the scheme as originally envisaged; that of using existing spare capacity on public transport as it covers the country. It would do little to facilitate the provision of public transport services where none exist nor would it facilitate the provision of accessible public transport.
However, the review of the free schemes does recommend that a social transport fund be supported and made available to voluntary and community based organisations for the provision of local transport initiatives that would be unlikely to operate without a subsidy. Such a fund would be mainly social in nature and could facilitate the provision of wheelchair accessible vehicles. The review considered it appropriate that such a fund could be managed locally, perhaps by the local authorities, in view of their knowledge of local services and to maintain community autonomy. This proposal needs to be considered further by the relevant Departments. In this regard, an interdepartmental working group on rural transport has been established, chaired by the Department of the Environment and Local Government and including a representative from my Department, to consider how best to address the rural transport deficit.
The group has been charged with the development of a template that can be used by each county development board in carrying out a comprehensive county-wide audit of rural passenger transport services to establish the extent to which people in rural Ireland have or do not have access to such services and to establish reasonable rural passenger transport needs. In this regard, a consultancy study has recently been initiated that will provide technical assistance in the template development. I understand that the audits will serve two main purposes, that is, form part of the wide ranging audit of services which is being undertaken by each county development board in the context of the preparation of its county strategy for economic, social and cultural development and to assist the Government in developing policy proposals on rural passenger transport.
With regard to time restrictions on the free travel scheme, these have been a feature of the scheme since its inception. They do not, however, apply in the case of mentally-handicapped people, people attending long-term rehabilitation courses or certain work experience programmes and certain other disabled or blind people. These people are issued with an unrestricted free travel pass which enables them to travel during the normally restricted travel times. The central issue in regard to time restrictions relates to capacity constraints. Restrictions apply at the request of the transport companies because the transport system is under severe pressure from commuters travelling to and from work and school in the morning and evening. In this regard, CIE has expressed grave reservations about any relaxation in time restrictions as many of its services are already operating at full capacity even during off-peak hours. There are no peak time travel restrictions on DART, suburban rail services, and on services provided by private transport operators in other parts of the country. The review of the free schemes noted that the demands for the easing of time restrictions are, without exception, based on the fact that people have difficulty attending hospitals for appointments that fall within the restricted peak times. The review recommends that the Department of Health and Children and the health boards should examine this problem with a view to introducing more convenient and flexible appointments for free travel pass holders. My Department has brought this recommendation to the attention of the Department of Health and Children.
In regard to travel for people requiring medical treatment, I understand that under the provisions of the Health Acts, a health board may make arrangements for the conveyance of patients to and from hospitals. The free travel companion pass scheme has been available since 1990 to persons who qualify for free travel and who, on account of their disability, are unable to travel alone. The companion pass enables a person 16 years of age, or over, to accompany the pass holder free of charge. The review considers that the purpose of the companion free travel pass scheme is to ensure that a person's entitlement to free travel is not diminished because a companion cannot afford to accompany them. Allowing companion pass holders to use their pass when not accompanying the principal travel pass holder would be outside the objective of the scheme. The review of the free schemes examines a large number of issues. I will carefully examine all the recommendations made in this report in the context of future budgets and available resources.