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Irish Mirror
Irish Mirror
National
Ken Foxe

Over 100 free travel passes confiscated in a year as many cards being used by another person

Just over 110 free travel passes were confiscated over the past year, mostly where they were being used by another person.

The Department of Social Protection said there had been on average nine cases a month discovered, with 73 relating to impersonation where a different person was found to be using the card.

There were a further six cases where the cardholder was no longer entitled to free travel and 29 instances where their Public Services Card had been blocked.

Three cases were also reported where a paper pass was still being used, even though a newer Public Services Card with a free travel token had been issued to the person.

Nearly 60% of cases involving suspected bogus use of free travel concerned people with addresses in Dublin, with the highest numbers in Co Dublin (9), and the northside postal districts of Dublin 11 (8 cases) and Dublin 7 (7 cases).

There were also six cases reported from Cork, four from Co Kildare, and three from each of Co Cavan, Co Galway, Co Laois, Co Louth, and Co Waterford.

There were multiple counties where not a single passholder had their pass confiscated including Co Leitrim, Co Donegal, Co Kerry, and Co Wexford.

Nearly three-quarters of the confiscations took place in just three specific months, according to data provided under FOI by the Department of Social Protection.

There were 31 free travel passes seized in October of last year, 23 in July of this year, and a further 30 in August 2022.

A spokeswoman for the Department of Social Protection said that the scheme provided free travel to the main public and private transport services, including road, rail, and ferry services.

This included services provided by Dublin Bus, Bus Éireann, Irish Rail, Luas, Local Link, and dozens of other private transport operators.

She said free travel cards could be blocked for more innocent reasons including where a new card had been issued due to loss or theft, where a person has lost a previous entitlement because they were no longer in receipt of a social welfare payment, or if they had left the state.

The spokeswoman said: “Currently, over 1 million people qualify for Free Travel, with the total number of beneficiaries increasing to over 1.6 million when spouses and companions are included.

"Accordingly, the number of free travel cards confiscated in this … period, represents approximately 0.01% of the total number of free travel cards."

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