Calls for immediate change to ‘ludicrous’ rules leaving NI people with epilepsy ‘stranded and out of pocket‘

People living with epilepsy in Northern Ireland are being left ‘stranded and out of pocket’ due to rules around discounted travel passes, it has been claimed.

Northern Ireland has the highest epilepsy prevalence in the UK, with more than 23,000 people living with the condition.

Many people with epilepsy aren’t able to drive and rely heavily on public transport to get to their place of work, or to simply carry out everyday tasks.

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The SmartPass scheme offers half-fare travel for those who qualify under specific criteria, including people who have been refused or had their driving licence revoked for medical reasons such as epilepsy.

But under current rules, people with epilepsy in Northern Ireland have to apply for a driving licence and receive a rejection, in order to access a discounted travel pass.

Epilepsy Action NI says this is an unnecessary and costly process that people with the condition shouldn’t have to go through just to access a benefit that could massively help some of the challenges they have to face in their day to day life because of their condition.

Ciaran McCarroll, 41, from Ballymena, relies on public transport to get to work and believes that the current discount travel rules need to change now.

He spends a significant amount of money on public transport and feels that people who cannot drive due to a medical condition have to jump through hoops to access discounted travel.

“Translink said I had to apply for a provisional licence again at a cost of £30 to have it refused before I qualify,” Ciaran said.

“It’s just ludicrous. It seems daft to apply for something you don’t need. Some sort of clinical letter should suffice i.e. this person has epilepsy and cannot drive,” he- added.

The complications did put Joanne Greer, from Mid Ulster, off applying – she gave up completely: “I gave up as it was too long a process just to be rejected and it was going to cost money to do so.”

Joanne believes the process was not created with people with epilepsy in mind and that there should be an easier way to access the scheme, such as by directly providing a medical letter confirming you have epilepsy and cannot drive.

Epilepsy Action Northern Ireland is calling on the Department for Infrastructure to make changes to this system, which applies regardless of whether you have uncontrolled seizures or have been living seizure-free for many years.

Carla Smyth, Northern Ireland manager at Epilepsy Action, said: “The current process is unnecessarily time-consuming and means so many people with epilepsy are being left out.

“It should be their right to have access to discounted public transport without having to spend time and money applying for a driving licence and getting it rejected.

“What we are asking for are simple changes that could have a massive impact on the day-to-day lives of people with epilepsy in Northern Ireland. We’re hoping the Department for Infrastructure (DfI) will listen to our calls and discuss with us what they can do to remove these unnecessary barriers.”

In response, a DfI spokesperson said: “Under the NI Concessionary Fares Scheme, a half fare concession is available for people who have had a driving licence refused or revoked on medical grounds.

“Following a recent public consultation on changes to eligibility for the Scheme, some stakeholders took the opportunity to raise wider issues with the current application processes.

“The Minister is currently considering the outcome of the public consultation and his decision will be confirmed as soon as possible.”

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