Bernard Durkan (Kildare North, Fine Gael)

There are clear inconsistencies in the regulations for disabled drivers and passengers tax concessions and the way they are applied.

To qualify for a concession under these regulations, a person must have lost the use of one or both limbs. I do not understand this, having studied the regulations for some time. I have met people who have lost the use of an arm or leg and neither of them have qualified under the rules. I have also seen people who do not appear to qualify at all who are in receipt of the concession.

One of the people I am referring to has lost a hand. A person either has a hand or does not. However, those wise people who make determinations in this area have come to the conclusion that he has not lost his entire arm so he is not disabled. When it comes to operating a motor vehicle, the man has lost the use of a limb and should qualify under the regulations for the concession.

The last straw must be the length of time adjudication takes. It can be up to a year before a person hears back from those making the decision. The notice then comes back from the HSE that a person was not eligible under any of the categories outlined for a medical certificate for a disabled driver and that he or she should appeal. God help such people when they go through the appeals system, because they will be sent back around the same course and will be told the same thing at the end of that process.

Will the Minister get hold of whomever is responsible for screwing up that system and remind him or her that the scheme is supposed to assist people who, for work or leisure, wish to drive a motor vehicle? The concessions are in respect of a modification to the motor vehicle. They should be awarded that concession and a special effort should be made to ensure the applications of those who are refused would be reviewed in the shortest possible time with a view to awarding them their necessary entitlements.

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