Tom Parlon (Laois-Offaly, Progressive Democrats)

I am pleased to take this opportunity to clarify the matter relating to the disabled drivers medical board of appeal. The disabled drivers and disabled passengers tax concessions scheme provides for certain tax concessions in respect of the purchase and running of a vehicle for persons who meet particular medical criteria relating to physical disablement. The tax concessions include remission or replacement of vehicle registration tax, VRT, repayment of value added tax, VAT, in the purchase of the vehicle and a repayment of VAT on the cost of adaptation of the vehicle. Repayment of the excise duty on fuel used in the motor vehicle and exemption from annual road tax to local authorities are also allowed.

The criteria for medical eligibility are as follows: The applicant is wholly or almost wholly without the use of both legs; the applicant is wholly without the use of one leg and almost wholly without the use of the other leg such that the applicant is severely restricted as to movement of the lower limbs; the applicant is without both hands or without both arms; the applicant is without one or both legs; the applicant is wholly or almost wholly without the use of both hands or arms and wholly or almost wholly without the use of one leg; the applicant has the medical condition of dwarfism and has serious difficulties of movement of the lower limbs.

In order to qualify for tax concessions under this scheme, a person must be in receipt of a primary medical certificate issued by the senior area medical officer in the local Health Service Executive area. Where a primary certificate is refused, this maybe appealed to the disabled drivers medical board of appeal whose decision is final.

The medical board of appeal of regulated by the Disabled Drivers and Disabled Passengers (Tax Concessions) (Amendment) Regulations 2004. These provide that the Minister for Finance may appoint five medical practitioners to the board on the nomination of the Minister for Health and Children, each for a period of four years. The amended regulations were signed by the Minister for Finance on 23 July 2004 and provided for the expansion of the panel of medical practitioners serving on the medical board of appeal from three to five; and amendment of the appeals process by introducing a six-month waiting period between an appeal and a subsequent application and introducing the requirement for a second application to be certified by a registered medical practitioner to the effect that there has been material disimprovement in the medical condition since the previous application. These changes were introduced on foot of recommendations of the interdepartmental review group report established to report to the Minister for Finance on the operation of the scheme.

These changes were recommended in order to improve the operation of the appeals process and enable the backlog of appeals to be tackled. In particular, the expansion of the board from three to five medical practitioners will facilitate more meetings of the board as only three members are required for an a appeal hearing.

As regards the current difficulties referred to, the Departments of Finance and Health and Children are engaged in the process of reconstituting the board, following a number of staff changes late last year and a number of administrative issues. The two Departments have been consulting intensively in order to put arrangements in place which should lead to an improved and more streamlined service from the reconstituted board. The issues involved are complex and, therefore, the process has taken some time. However, I understand that significant progress has been made and that the last outstanding matters are now being resolved. On the basis of this progress, it is expected that the board will be resuming operation within a matter of weeks.