Pat Gallagher (Donegal South West, Fianna Fail)

I apologise for the Minister for Finance who is unavoidably absent. I am pleased to take this opportunity to clarify matters concerning the disabled drivers and disabled passengers tax concession scheme.

Deputy Crawford has raised two issues that will be addressed, the eligibility criteria for the scheme and the operation of the board of appeals. The disabled drivers and disabled passengers scheme of 1994 provides for certain tax concessions for the purchase and running of a vehicle for persons who meet particular medical criteria relating to physical disability. The tax concessions include remission or replacement of VRT, repayment of VAT on the purchase of the vehicle to be used and a repayment of VAT on the cost of the vehicle's adaptation. Repayment of the excise duty on fuel used in the vehicle and exemption from annual road tax to local authorities are also allowed.

The medical criteria set out in legislation are as follows. The applicant must be wholly or almost wholly without the use of both legs, wholly without the use of one leg and almost wholly without the use of the other leg such that the applicant is severely restricted in movement of the lower limbs, without both hands or without arms, without one or both legs, wholly or almost wholly without the use of both hands or arms and wholly or almost wholly without the use of one leg, or has the medical condition of dwarfism and has serious difficulties of movement of the lower limbs.

It is a fundamental requirement for admission to the scheme that the applicant meets the specified medical criteria and is in possession of a primary medical certificate to that effect, issued by the appropriate senior area medical officer, an official of the local Health Service Executive. I repeat Deputy Crawford's comments that the Minister for Finance has no function in deciding whether individual certificates are issued. Where the issue of the required certificate is refused, this can be appealed to the disabled drivers medical board of appeal, an independent body whose decision is final.

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