Trevor Sargent
Ceist:164 Mr. Sargent asked the Minister for Social and Family Affairs the progress which has been made in extending free travel for qualifying recipients on an all-Ireland all-island basis. [23416/04]
Amharc ar fhreagraWednesday, 6 October 2004
Ceisteanna (63, 64)
Róisín Shortall
Ceist:189 Ms Shortall asked the Minister for Social and Family Affairs his proposals for the introduction of a smartcard for rail and bus travel which could lead to the extension of the social welfare free travel scheme throughout the Thirty-two Counties; the content of his discussions with the Minister of State for Northern Ireland recently on this matter; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [23311/04]
Amharc ar fhreagraFreagraí scríofa
I propose to take Questions Nos. 164 and 189 together.
Under the existing free travel scheme, pass holders who reside in the Republic of Ireland can travel free within the South. Similarly, people who live in Northern Ireland who hold a concessionary travel pass can travel free within the North. Under special cross-Border arrangements that have been in place since 1995, both southern and northern pass holders can undertake cross-Border journeys free of charge. The introduction of free travel on an all-Ireland basis would enhance these existing arrangements by enabling southern pass holders to make free onward journeys within the North. Similarly, Northern Ireland pass holders would be able to make internal journeys within the South free of charge to them. There is considerable take-up by passholders — North and South — of the existing cross-Border free travel service. Some 200,000 passenger journeys are made by pass holders each year under the scheme, about half and half from each jurisdiction. The proposed enhanced all-Ireland free travel service will bring a useful additional flexibility to the service and should help encourage even more extensive take-up by pass holders on both sides of the Border.
There is a number of technical and financial issues to be resolved in order to implement this enhanced all-Ireland free travel system. These issues will require co-operation between my Department and the Northern Ireland Department with responsibility for transport policy, as well as the relevant northern and southern transport operator companies. My Department has had some discussions over the past year with its counterpart Department in the North on the general proposals. In September 2004, my predecessor met with the Minister of State at the Department for Regional Development in Northern Ireland to explore the potential for further co-operation between the two Departments in relation to the proposal. They discussed the options and scope for co-funding the scheme and considered various technical issues that will arise.
One of these issues relates to the different types of free travel passes that are used in each jurisdiction. It was agreed by both Ministers that it would be useful to ensure that smartcards used for public transport and concession travel purposes are as compatible as possible to facilitate cross-Border journeys.
At present the Rail Procurement Agency is working towards introducing a smartcard for integrated ticketing on public transport services in the greater Dublin area. My Department is co-operating on this project to explore the possibilities for extending the use of this card to free travel pass holders in the greater Dublin area and ultimately to pass holders countrywide.