Michael Noonan (Limerick City, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I thank the Deputy for raising this matter. As he will be aware, the primary medical certificate is required to access the disabled drivers and disabled passengers scheme. An applicant must satisfy one of six medical criteria to receive a primary medical certificate.

I will set out a brief description of the scheme, as it stands. It provides relief from vehicle registration tax and VAT on the purchase of a specially adapted vehicle, assistance with fuel costs relating to the running costs of the vehicle and an exemption from motor tax for drivers and passengers with disabilities who fulfil the medical criteria required to qualify for the scheme.

The primary legislation authorising the making of regulations providing for tax concessions for disabled drivers and passengers is contained in section 92 of the Finance Act 1989. The regulations introduced subsequently to govern the scheme, including the eligibility criteria, are contained in the Disabled Drivers and Disabled Passengers (Tax Concessions) Regulations 1994.

To qualify for the scheme an applicant must have a permanent and severe physical disability within the terms of the regulations and, as stated, satisfy one of the six qualifying criteria outlined in the regulations. The senior medical officer of the relevant local Health Service Executive administrative area makes a professional clinical determination on whether an individual applicant satisfies the medical criteria. A successful applicant is provided with a primary medical certificate which is required under the regulations to claim the reliefs provided for under the scheme.

An unsuccessful applicant can appeal the decision of the senior medical officer to the Disabled Drivers Medical Board of Appeal which makes a new clinical determination in respect of the individual concerned. The regulations mandate that the medical board of appeal is independent in the exercise of its functions to ensure the integrity of its clinical determinations. After six months a citizen may reapply if there has been a deterioration in his or her condition.

The six qualifying criteria are necessarily strict and precise. To qualify an applicant must be wholly or almost wholly without the use of both legs; be 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; be without both hands or both arms; be without one or both legs; be wholly or almost wholly without the use of both hands or arms and wholly or almost wholly without the use of one leg; or have the medical condition of dwarfism and serious difficulties in movement of the lower limbs.

The scheme and qualifying criteria were designed specifically for those with severe physical disabilities. My Department frequently receives correspondence from applicants who do not meet the qualifying criteria but believe they could benefit from the scheme. While I have great sympathy with those who do not qualify, given the scale and scope of the scheme, I cannot expand it further within the current context of constrained resources.

The scheme represents a significant tax expenditure. Between the vehicle registration tax and VAT forgone and the assistance with fuel costs used by members of the scheme, provisional figures indicate that it represented a cost of €48.6 million to the Exchequer in 2014, an increase of €5.1 million on the 2013 cost. This figure does not include the revenue forgone to the local government fund in the respect of the relief from motor tax provided for members of the scheme. There were 4,936 claims for vehicle registration tax and VAT relief and 12,338 claims for the repayment of excise on fuel under the scheme in 2014.

I recognise that the scheme plays an important role in expanding the mobility of citizens with disabilities. I have managed to maintain the relief at current levels throughout the crisis and despite the requirement for significant fiscal consolidation. As such, while I recognise the Deputy's position, given the still challenging fiscal environment, I have no plans to expand the medical criteria beyond the six provided for in the Disabled Drivers and Disabled Passengers (Tax Concessions) Regulations 1994.

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