Vol. 572 No. 6
402 Mr. Cuffe asked the Minister for Social and Family Affairs if she will consider implementing a travel voucher scheme that will apply to senior citizens living in the more remote areas in which there is no access to public transport and who would get little or no benefit from the free travel scheme. [23907/03]
The free travel scheme operated by my Department provides free travel on the main public and private transport services for those eligible under the scheme.
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 over 80 private transport operators. The vast majority of private contractors providing services under the scheme operate in rural areas. I am always willing to consider applications from licensed private transport operators who may wish to participate in the free travel scheme.
Various alternatives to the existing system, including the use of vouchers, have been examined.
A study published in 2000 under the Department's programme of expenditure reviews concluded that a voucher type system, which would be open to a wide range of transport providers including taxis and hackneys, would be extremely difficult to administer, open to abuse and unlikely to be sufficient to afford an acceptable amount of travel.
The issue of access to public transport is being addressed at present through the rural transport initiative, which is being managed by Area Development Management, ADM, on behalf of my colleague, the Minister for Transport.
I secured €500,000 in the last budget towards the cost of the initiative to ensure that free travel pass holders have access to these community-based transport services.
