140 Irish 18-year-olds to be offered free Inter Rail tickets this summer
140 Irish 18-year-olds are being offered free Inter Rail tickets this summer as part of a new scheme to promote Europe to young people.
Applications for the Discover EU project open to 15,000 people on June 12th via the European Youth Portal.
Dublin MEP Brian Hayes says that if the pilot programme is successful it will be expanded out over seven years.
“The EU has introduced many programmes that have benefited young people such as Erasmus. DiscoverEU is another way that young people can benefit and at the same time promote tourism and social cohesion," he said.
“In the case of Ireland, 140 Irish citizens will have the opportunity to travel across the EU Inter Rail network from France to Estonia or Denmark to Italy. Even countries that are not in the EU such as Turkey, Norway, Switzerland and Serbia can be visited as they form part of the Inter Rail network.
"Furthermore, the EU will assist citizens from countries such as Ireland, Malta and Cyprus who have additional travel costs to reach the Inter Rail network.”
The scheme is eligible to any EU citizen, living in an EU Member State aged 18 on 1st July (born between 2nd July 1999 and 1st July 2000).
Tickets are valid for a minimum of 1 day and a maximum 30-day consecutive period from 9th July to 30th September 2018.
People are encouraged to visit https://europa.eu/youth. Applications will be accepted from 12th to 26th June, with successful applicants informed from the 27th June.
