Erin McGreehan (Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

Cuirim fáilte roimh an Aire Stáit. This Commencement matter is a practical way to update an existing and very important scheme, which is in line with our sustainable and carbon neutral ambition. We should be cognisant of the huge cost to living with a disability. I have been working with some of our Ógra Fianna Fáil members on this proposal, notably Brian Crehan from Kildare North.

Disabled persons have not been properly accommodated or encouraged by the green initiatives taken by the Government, in particular, on electric cars. To provide equity among the most vulnerable in our society, special and extra arrangements should be made to facilitate those with mobility issues in the green transition. We ask for a expansion of the tax relief and fuel allowances available under the disabled drivers and disabled passengers scheme.

I ask the Minister to look at three areas. First, I would like to expand the disabled drivers and disabled passengers scheme. The scheme currently covers tax relief in the form of remission of vehicle registration tax, VRT, repayment of VAT on purchase of a vehicle and on the cost of adapting that vehicle. We ask the Minister to expand the scheme to include electric and hybrid electric vehicles across the three areas of that tax relief, mainly the remission of VRT on electric and hybrid electric vehicles and repayment of VAT on the purchase of electric vehicles and the cost of adapting them.

Second, I ask the Minister to increase the maximum rate of reimbursement in order to incentivise the green transition. The maximum amounts available under the scheme are €10,000 for disabled drivers and €16,000 for disabled passengers. There is a cap of €16,000 on the amount available for specially adapted vehicles for drivers with severe disabilities and a cap of €22,000 on extensively adapted vehicles. We ask the Minister to increase the reimbursement figures by up to 50% to allow for the higher cost of purchase and adaption of electric vehicles.

Third, I ask the Minister to look at the fuel allowance. Disabled drivers who qualify under the disabled drivers and disabled passengers scheme are given a fuel allowance for up to 2,730 l per annum. We ask the Minister to consider expanding this tax relief allowance to include electric charging to the maximum amount, which would possibly reach between 120 and 240 per 100 km.

The most glaring and obvious challenge our citizens with disabilities face is mobility and essentially being trapped in their own homes or small community. The statistics back that up, in that 24% of our people with disabilities do not have access to a car or van, compared with 12% of the general population. If we could expand the scheme and assist, incentivise and empower people to make environmentally conscious choices, it could be a clear and definitive way of helping disabled persons to adapt their car and have a mode of transport and would incentivise them to make the green choice we all want to make.