The Civil Service travel pass scheme was approved in 2001 and has been in operation since 1 January 2002. The operation of the scheme has been kept under review since then and information clarifying certain issues was sent to all Departments by my Department in June of this year. I have arranged for a copy of that notice to be forwarded to the Deputy. Subject to the requirements of individual Departments in relation to administrative efficiency, the Civil Service travel pass scheme may be availed of by staff employed on a permanent or probationary basis, including those initially recruited on a temporary basis, and to staff employed under fixed-term contracts. The implementation of travel pass schemes in areas of the public service other than the Civil Service would be a matter for the relevant employing bodies.
While it is a requirement of the Revenue Commissioners that the choice to obtain a travel pass in lieu of salary which is exercisable by employees in both the public or private sectors cannot be made more frequently than once a year, the Civil Service scheme does not preclude staff from exercising that option at different times during the year. This and other issues were clarified in the notice issued by my Department in June 2004. However, for administrative efficiency purposes, some Departments may exercise limits as to the number of operative dates that they can allow in any annual period.