Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 3 October 2017
572. Deputy Maurice Quinlivan asked the Minister for Employment Affairs and Social Protection if persons who are on the wage subsidy scheme but who are no longer in receipt of the disability allowance and who apply for their new public services card will not lose their free travel pass. [41563/17]
Amharc ar fhreagra573. Deputy Maurice Quinlivan asked the Minister for Employment Affairs and Social Protection if persons employed by a company (details supplied) will be automatically eligible for the free travel pass when they apply for the new public services card. [41564/17]
Amharc ar fhreagraI propose to take Questions Nos. 572 and 573 together.
The “Make Work Pay” initiative was introduced on 6 April 2017. This initiative extends a free travel entitlement for a period of five years where people with a long-term disability payment move off the payment to get a job. The following schemes are considered as long-term disability payments and any person who moves directly from these schemes to employment will be entitled to retain their free travel entitlement for a further period of five years, providing all other conditions of the free travel scheme are met:
- Disability Allowance, DA;
- Invalidity Pension, INVP;
- Invalidity Pension to Partial Capacity Benefit;
- Disablement Benefit paid along with Incapacity Supplement,Customers who transferred from DA/INVP to a Community Employment Scheme,Customers who transferred from DA/INVP to a SOLAS Scheme;
- Customers who transferred from DA/INVP to a Back to Work Scheme;
- Customers who transferred from DA/Disablement Benefit and Incapacity Supplement /Blind Pension to a Wage Subsidy Scheme;
- Customers who transferred from DA/INVP to Willing Able Mentoring, WAM;
The Deputy will appreciate that employment with the company concerned does not of itself automatically qualify people to retain their free travel entitlement.
I trust this clarifies the matter for the Deputy.
