Pauline Tully (Cavan-Monaghan, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

I welcome the fact that the NRH is willing to discuss coming back on board with the scheme and that the board is almost in place. There have been ongoing problems with the scheme, however. It is 18 months since the board resigned. They resigned because the criteria for admittance to the scheme are far too stringent. A review of the scheme had been promised by the Minister's predecessor, which never took place. That is what led the board members to resign. I welcome the Minister's announcement this week of additional relief under the scheme. The reliefs offered under the scheme are not the issue. They are all very welcome. It is admittance to the scheme that is the problem. The transport working group's final report, which was published in February of this year, acknowledged that the scheme is outdated and should be replaced by a needs-based assessment. We have now moved on several months and we need to see progress on this issue. It has not happened. Can the Minister give a date for when a new scheme will be put in place to replace what the Minister has admitted is and the transport group has identified as outdated?

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