Outdated commuter tax relief scheme needs to updated, says Laois councillor

Cllr Tommy Mulligan has called for hybrid workers to be included in the scheme

Published 4th Jul 2026, 09:55 BST File photo. Cllr Tommy Mulligan has called for hybrid workers to be included in the scheme Sign up to our Laois Live newsletter Sign up Thank you for signing up! Did you know you can manage your profile, and explore all of the available newsletters from Laois Live within your account.

A Laois councillor has called for hybrid workers to be included in the Government’s Taxsaver Commuter Ticket Scheme.

The Taxsaver Commuter Ticket Scheme is a tax relief scheme which has been in place since 1999 and reduces the cost of using public transport for commuters.

Employers can avail of tax relief in the form of PRSI savings of up to 11.15%. Employees can save between 27.1% and 52.1% of travel costs due to income tax, PRSI and USC savings.

Essentially, workers pay for transport from their gross salary before tax and so it reduces the amount of tax they pay on their PRSI, income tax and USC. The cost is deducted from the employees’ salary over a 12 month period.

The scheme covers transport on Dublin Bus, Bus Éireann, the Luas and Irish Rail.

Councillor Tommy Mulligan has urged Laois County Council to call on the Department of Transport and Finance to review the Taxsaver Commuter Ticket Scheme to ensure it better supports workers who commute to Dublin on a part-time or hybrid-working basis.

“It’s a great scheme if you’re commuting 4 or 5 days a week to Dublin. But we’re all well aware with Covid-19 that work practises changed in Ireland where employees were encouraged to work from home,” the Portlaoise councillor said.

According to the latest figures from the CSO, around a third of people work from home.

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Cllr Mulligan noted that a lot of people travel to work two or three times a week on a hybrid basis.

He added that it is estimated around 7,000 people commute from Portlaoise to Dublin everyday and a further 1,000 people travel from Portarlington to Dublin.

Earlier this year, Laois County Council commissioned a commuter survey to create an accurate picture of where people living in Laois are commuting to for work, how often they commute, and challenges they face.

Of the 1,650 commuters surveyed in Laois, only 11% were happy with the costs of travelling.

“This tax saver scheme was first introduced in 1999 when everyone commuted five days a week. In 2006 and 2007 the scheme was expanded across the public sector, including teachers and other employees. We’re all well aware work practices now are completely different to what they were in 1999 or 2007,” Cllr Mulligan said.

“The Government has made no adjustments to this scheme even though work practices are completely different. We should be trying to make life easier for commuters and encourage them to use public transport. It’s not a fair scheme.”