Anne Rabbitte (Galway East, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I thank the Deputy for tabling this question. The disabled drivers and disabled passengers scheme is the responsibility of the Minister for Finance and is administered by the Department of Finance and the Revenue Commissioners. It provides relief from vehicle registration tax and VAT on the purchase of adapted car, as well as an exemption from motor tax and an annual fuel grant. The scheme is open to severely and permanently disabled persons as a driver or as a passenger as well as certain charitable organisations.

In response to concerns raised on access to the scheme and the relevant qualifying criteria, my colleague, the Minister for Finance, Deputy Paschal Donohoe, committed to undertaking a comprehensive review of the scheme. Legislative and budgetary responsibility for the scheme continues to lie with the Department of Finance, which will be able to address granular queries on the current status and operation of the scheme and any dedicated review thereof.

Consideration of the disabled drivers and disabled passengers scheme has taken place in the context of action 104 of the national disability inclusion strategy. The NDIS transport working group, which was established in 2020 to advance action 104, has a specific objective derived from the make work pay report of 2017 to coordinate actions across Government on transport and mobility supports for people with disabilities and to enhance the options for transport to work or employment for people with disabilities. Action 104 commits that a review of existing Government-funded transport and mobility schemes will be conducted with a view to developing proposals for the development of a co-ordinated plan for delivery of transport supports for persons with disabilities.

Following engagement last year between the Ministers, Deputies O'Gorman and Donohoe, it was decided the disabled drivers and disabled passengers scheme would be included in the transport working group's holistic review and development of next-steps proposals as part of its work. The disabled drivers and disabled passengers scheme was discussed by the transport working group in its most recent meeting in September 2022.

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