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

I propose to take Questions Nos. 83 and 84 together. I thank Deputies Canney and McNamara for their questions.

The disabled drivers and disabled passengers scheme provides relief from vehicle registration tax, VRT, and value added tax, VAT, on the use of an 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 who also meet the medical criteria, as a driver or as a passenger, and also to certain organisations. In order to qualify for relief, the applicant must hold a primary medical certificate issued by the relevant senior area medical officer or a board medical certificate issued by the disabled driver medical board of appeal. Certain other qualifying criteria apply in relation to the vehicle, in particular that it must be specially constructed or adapted for use by the applicant.

To qualify for a primary medical certificate an applicant must be permanently and severely disabled and satisfy at least one of six medical criteria as set out in primary legislation, with which the Deputies are very familiar. The allowable limits of relief provided under the scheme vary by the nature of the primary medical certificate holder, that is whether he or she is a disabled driver or disabled passenger, as well as the type of adaptations undertaken.

As the Deputies may be aware, I have just introduced a fourth category of reliefs available for both disabled drivers and disabled passengers of €48,000 and €32,000 respectively, where adaptations as specified for wheelchair accessible vehicles are required. I want to take this opportunity to pay tribute to Ms Leigh Gath who, along with others, highlighted this particular issue. We were able to identify and bring forward a solution after work over recent months on that particular issue.

My predecessor, Deputy Donohoe, and the Minister for Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth, Deputy O'Gorman, agreed in September 2021 that the disabled driver scheme should be incorporated into the work of the National Disability Inclusion Strategy transport working group.

It was tasked under action 104 with reviewing all Government-funded transport and mobility supports for those with a disability, including the disabled drivers and disabled passengers scheme. The final report, published back in February, indicated that the current scheme was outdated and should be replaced with a needs-based, grant-aided vehicular adaptation scheme. The proposed scheme could thus provide direct financial assistance to individuals requiring vehicle adaptations according to their needs in order to meet their personal transport requirements and, ultimately, facilitate independence and participation in society. The working group agreed that proposals in this regard were a clear deliverable on which work could begin in the immediate future.

I very much welcome the Taoiseach’s comments last week that he will convene all relevant Departments to develop meaningful proposals arising from the final report of the working group. I assure the Deputies that I and my officials will fully engage in that process and support the development of a new scheme that is fit for purpose and significantly modernised, one that meets the needs of disabled drivers and passengers who need additional help from the State in order to meet their transport needs.

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