Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 24 July 2018
2424. Deputy Peter Burke asked the Minister for Employment Affairs and Social Protection her plans to introduce a travel allowance for those that hold a free travel pass but are unable to utilise it due to living rurally and away from access to public transport; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [32676/18]
Amharc ar fhreagraThe free travel scheme 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 companies such as Bus Átha Cliath, Bus Éireann and Iarnród Éireann, as well as Luas and services provided by over 80 private transport operators. There are currently approx. 914,000 customers with direct eligibility. The scheme is available to all people aged over 66 living permanently in the State. To qualify for the scheme, applicants who are under age 66 must be in receipt of a qualifying payment. These are invalidity pension, blind pension, disability allowance, carer’s allowance or an equivalent social security payment from a country covered by EC Regulations or one with which Ireland has a Bilateral Social Security Agreement.
Any decision to introduce a travel allowance along the lines suggested by the Deputy would significantly change the nature of the free travel scheme and would have considerable budgetary consequences. Various alternatives to the existing system, including the use of vouchers, have been examined previously by my Department. It concluded that a voucher type system, which would be open to a wide range of transport providers including taxis, would be extremely difficult to administer, open to misuse and unlikely to be sufficient to provide for an acceptable amount of travel.
Under the supplementary welfare allowance scheme my Department may award a travel supplement in any case where the circumstances of the case so warrant. The supplement is intended to assist with ongoing or recurring travel costs that cannot be met from the client’s own resources and are deemed to be necessary. Every decision is based on consideration of the circumstances of the case, taking account of the nature and extent of the need and of the resources of the person concerned.
I acknowledge that not all customers have easy access to transport providers participating in the free travel scheme particularly in parts of rural Ireland. A further provision of €10 million was made for the scheme in Budget 2018 to facilitate more private commercial operators joining the free travel scheme for the first time, existing participants adding more routes, and operators returning to the scheme where they had previously withdrawn. My Department also provides €1.5 million in funding towards the rural transport programme which enables the development of better links between local/rural transport, and scheduled bus/rail services.
I hope this clarifies the matter for the Deputy.
