Michael McGrath (Cork South Central, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I thank the Minister of State for his reply. It would be an important change. The difference it will make in practice, in some cases, means the difference between a bus being bought or not - that is the simple reality - and that difference is life-changing for some people in terms of their quality of life on a day-to-day basis, in particular their experience of getting out and about, and so on. It is very important. I acknowledge that, back in 2015, an amendment to the scheme provided wider access to charitable organisations because, up to that point, relief was confined to bodies not primarily funded by the State. That was changed then and if the Government proceeds with the change we have discussed, and which will have to go through all the usual channels, the removal of the word "chiefly" will open up the possibility of making this scheme available to many service providers. That is critically important. The essential change, which is a significant one, is that the existing requirement that more than half of the service users need to have a primary medical certificate will be replaced with a requirement that just one service user will have a primary medical certificate.

I can understand the perspective of the Minister of State, the Department and Revenue on what they call tax expenditures and the need to control that but, I believe this is quite narrow in scope. When we consider the difference it will make and the impact it will have on the lives of people who are very vulnerable, I believe there is very strong support for this in the House. I urge the Minister of State and his officials to work on this and to bring forward the amendment to the statutory instrument as quickly as possible, and to assist - we can all play our part - in making organisations aware of the change and the benefit. It should be acknowledged that the savings under this scheme are very significant. I thank the Minister of State. I will withdraw amendment No. 60.

See this speech in context