Pauline Tully (Cavan-Monaghan, Sinn Fein)
Link to this: Individually | In context | Oireachtas source

The fact that there is no other scheme in place means people have no option but to apply under this one, especially if they are in rural areas. I recently attended an assessment for a primary medical certificate with a constituent on being asked to do so. The community doctor who did the assessment was very thorough. I discussed the matter with the doctor afterwards and we both knew the man was not going to qualify because of the stringent criteria. The doctor was completely frustrated with the system also. The constituent was refused. He does not have the use of one of his arms, so he could not possibly drive. Despite this, he still did not qualify. He has appealed the decision. Recently, he was asking me whether he should follow up on the appeal. The response to a recent parliamentary question I put to the Minister for Finance indicates that attempts to put together another appeals board have been unsuccessful to date. Does that surprise Dr. McDonagh? Apparently, there were no applications by the deadline.