Maria Byrne (Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

Thank you very much, a Chathaoirligh, for selecting this all-important Commencement debate. I thank the Minister of State, Deputy English, very much for coming here today to represent the Minister for Finance. I have been working with a number of individuals who have applied for a primary medical certificate. This is a very important certificate for people, especially if they have an accident or they are impeded from driving properly and they want to get an automatic car, for example. I have a lady in her 80s who had an accident and has plates in her arm. She applied to the HSE for a primary medical certificate and was refused. That is fine, but then she appealed it and there is no appeals officer in place at present. She applied at the start of November 2021 and she was refused in mid-November 2021. She was sent a form to appeal the decision to the adjudicator if she so wished. It is now the month of May, and nobody has yet been appointed. I have spoken to somebody else who is in the same situation.This lady has had to spend money on taxis. If she could qualify, she might be able to get a car adjusted to her needs. The kernel of the problem is that she does not know whether she qualifies. A number of other people in similar situations have contacted me. It is really important that this assessor or adjudicator be appointed as soon as possible because it is putting extra strain on people, especially older people, in terms of whether they qualify for the primary medical certificate.