Minister for Foreign Affairs Simon Coveney TD, along with Fine Gael Senator and spokesman on European Affairs, Neale Richmond, has welcomed the decision by the European Commission to open up a second round of applications for 18 year old Europeans to receive a free inter rail ticket.

“The DiscoverEU project was the brainchild of Fine Gael’s European level party, the European People’s Party. Under the project, 18 year olds can apply to receive a free month long inter rail ticket which will enabled them to travel throughout all 28 EU Member States for free.

“The first round of the project saw 15,000 lucky young Europeans receive free tickets while this second round aims to reach at least 12,000 young Europeans.

“This is a great opportunity for young Irish people to discover Europe; its history, its culture and its society. Europe is a diverse continent made up of so many brilliant people that each contribute to our common European identity, an identity enriched by our membership of the EU.

“As a young student, I was lucky to travel through Europe twice on an inter rail ticket; those experiences gave me a great appreciation for our continent’s rich history and the many things which bring us together as Europeans under the umbrella of the EU.

“Those keen to take advantage of the DiscoverEU project can log onto  https://europa.eu/youth/discovereu_en to find out more and to apply.