Finian McGrath (Dublin Bay North, Independent) | Oireachtas source

I am delighted to be here to meet and to be made accountable to colleagues. This is a very important issue. I know there are broader issues and I commend the people here. I know them all individually and their track record for pushing for services for people with disabilities is commendable. I thank them for their support. I thank the Vice Chairman and the committee for its invitation to appear today to discuss the proposed health (transport support) Bill. I am pleased to have the opportunity to discuss this Bill with the committee and to go into details.

I am aware of the committee's continued interest in the issues which have arisen relating to the mobility allowance. I would like to update the committee on the progress under way in developing new legislative proposals. The committee is very familiar with the circumstances around the closure of the mobility allowance and the motorised transport schemes but, to put the matter in context, I want to provide a short summary of the background to the scheme to assist our discussion. I will also outline to the committee the developments currently under way and I will be happy to answer members' questions. The mobility allowance was established in 1979 as an administrative scheme by way of a departmental circular. The mobility allowance was payable by the Health Service Executive and previously the health boards, subject to a means test, to persons with a severe disability who were between 16 and 65 years old and unable to walk or use public transport. The full monthly rate of mobility allowance was €208.50. At the time the scheme was closed, it had 4,700 recipients at an annual cost of €9.3 million. Since the closure of the scheme, the Government has directed that the Health Service Executive should continue an equivalent monthly payment to those 4,700 individuals, pending the establishment of a new transport support scheme.

It is very important that people know that.

The motorised transport grant, established in 1968, was also an administrative scheme. It operated as a means-tested grant to assist a person with a severe disability with the purchase or adaptation of a car where that car was essential to retain employment. The maximum grant at that time was €5,020 payable once to an individual in any three-year period. In recent years, more than 300 people received a grant each year at an estimated cost of €1.3 million.

As the committee is aware, the Government decided to close the transport grant scheme in February 2013 and no further grants have been payable since this date. However, it is important to note that the disabled drivers and disabled passengers scheme that is operated by the Revenue Commissioners remains in place. The scheme provides vehicle registration tax, VRT and value-added tax, VAT, relief, an exemption from road tax and a fuel grant to drivers and passengers with a disability who qualify under the relevant criteria set out in the governing regulations made by the Minister for Finance. Specially adapted vehicles driven by disabled persons are also exempt from the payment of tolls on national toll roads and toll bridges. Transport Infrastructure Ireland has responsibility for the scheme.

In 2012, the then Ombudsman recommended that the Department of Health revise both schemes to make them compliant with the Equal Status Acts, by removing the upper age limit and using a broader definition of disability in respect of eligibility for both schemes. These recommendations raised significant issues of a legal, financial and practical nature, particularly as regards extending eligibility to a significantly wider cohort. With continuing pressure on public expenditure, including the health budget, the Government reached the conclusion that such an extension of either scheme would have implications for the protection of front-line health services and would be unsustainable. A review group on transport supports for people with disabilities and an interdepartmental group, which was chaired by the Department of An Taoiseach, were established. On foot of the interdepartmental group's work the Government decided that the detailed preparatory work required for a new transport support scheme and associated statutory provisions should be progressed by the Minister for Health, in consultation with other relevant Ministers. In making the decision to establish a new scheme, the Government's focus has been on those in most need who have the least resources available to them. In line with the Government's decision, the Department of Health has been working to develop legislative proposals for a new transport scheme. Members will be aware that the Programme for a Partnership Government acknowledges the ongoing drafting of primary legislation for a new transport support scheme to assist those with a disability to meet their mobility costs.

The Government's legislative programme for 2017 includes the Health (Transport Support) Bill. The legislative proposals for the scheme seek to ensure the following: There is a firm statutory basis to the scheme's operation; there is transparency and equity in the eligibility criteria attaching to the scheme; that resources are targeted at those with the greatest needs; and the scheme is capable of being costed and it is affordable on its introduction and on an ongoing basis.

The general scheme and heads of Bill has now been completed in draft form and has been subject to detailed legal examination. This detailed examination was a very important stage given the complex legal issues that have arisen in the operation of previous arrangements. The draft general scheme and heads of Bill were then circulated to other Departments in December last. They were subjected to consultation between officials in the Department of Health and the Department of Public Expenditure and Reform. Members will appreciate that it has been necessary to establish both the numbers likely to qualify for payment and the likely overall cost of the proposals.

The clear instruction from Government is that eligibility criteria for the transport support scheme must focus on those with the greatest need who have the least resources available to them. The position, as articulated in the Ombudsman's reports about the inequitable nature of the abolished schemes, remains valid and must be addressed under any new arrangements. However, to make the eligibility criteria for the scheme very broad, opening up newer categories of eligibility, the effects of which are difficult to estimate, would carry major budgetary implications. Competing demands within the disability budget and elsewhere must be considered. I refer to issues such as therapies for children, day services for young adults leaving school, and the need to improve other supports for people with a disability. Therefore, the focus in the Department of Health has been very much on the identification of appropriate criteria that will benefit those facing the greatest challenges, while taking account of the group who have continued to receive the payment and who, it must be acknowledged, have come to rely on that payment. These considerations continue to be at the centre of the Department's efforts to find a solution which is fair, financially affordable and, very important, legally sound.

The very real needs in this area are recognised. Let us take, for example, the case of an individual who uses a large customised wheelchair that cannot be accommodated on public transport. If that individual is not in a position to easily transfer to a standard seat in a car, then there is a real issue of cost attaching to their transport. Additionally, if this individual is in receipt of a very low income, such costs could restrict his or her access to transport and participation in important activities.

An added issue to be addressed is the treatment of the 4,700 people who are currently in receipt of the payment under the previous mobility scheme. As mentioned, payments continue to be made to this group, on an interim basis, in order to prevent hardship and allow time to deal with the complex issues that have arisen through no fault of the recipients. This is important in alleviating stress, anxiety and uncertainty among a vulnerable group in society, pending the introduction of a statutory scheme.

Whatever the criteria for the new scheme, we will also seek to address the needs of current recipients. Again, this adds complexity to the definition of eligibility criteria from a legal and drafting perspective but the proposals to be put to Government will seek to take account of this group. The proposals will also provide for a transparent and objective appeals process that deals fairly and sensitively with applicants.

When the consultation with the other relevant Departments has been completed, and the draft general scheme is submitted to Government, it will be a matter for Government to determine the precise policy that should underpin the general scheme. The committee will appreciate that I cannot pre-empt the outcome of the Government's considerations. While I am limited in how precise I can be on the nature of the final proposals in advance of their determination by Government, I want to assure the committee of the priority attaching to this issue.

In summary, officials have continued to work to develop a solution that will meet the aim of contributing towards the transport or mobility needs of those in greatest need and with the least resources, within whatever funding level is available. There is an unusual degree of complexity attaching to the issues.

I fully acknowledge and accept, because many colleagues have raised the matter with me before, that there has been a protracted period since the problems with the mobility scheme were first highlighted. However, significant progress continues to be made. I hope to be in a position to bring proposals to Government in the near future once consultation with the relevant Departments, particularly the Department of Public Expenditure and Reform, has been completed. The process of Oireachtas scrutiny can then commence.

I welcome any questions or comments from the committee members. I thank the Chairman for the opportunity to meet the committee today. I reaffirm my commitment, as Minister, both to the committee and the disability community generally, to introduce this new Bill.