Free travel for nearly 1m people cost €77m in 2017
More than 900,000 Irish people, mainly pensioners, availed of free travel last year which is an increase of 42% since 2007 when 637,312 people had a free travel pass.
Ireland’s population has been getting steadily older since the 1980s, with over-65s seeing the largest increase in population in the last census, so the number eligible for free travel is expected to continue to rise.
