Jennifer Carroll MacNeill (Dún Laoghaire, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I thank the Senator for raising this important matter. Something I am deeply interested in since coming into the Department is the way in which our tax structures can be of assistance to anybody who needs additional assistance, such as the disabled drivers or passengers community. I agree that the scheme needs to be reviewed, including from the perspective of accessibility to the scheme. I am not sure it is as open as it could be for the range of people with different levels of disability who need different types of support. We could look at it in a more holistic way.

As the Senator is aware, the disabled drivers and disabled passengers scheme provides relief from vehicle registration tax, VRT, and VAT on the purchase of an adapted car as well as an exemption from motor tax and an annual fuel grant. This scheme is open to severely and permanently disabled persons as a driver or as a passenger and also to certain charitable organisations. In order to qualify for relief, as the Senator has said, the applicant must hold a primary medical certificate, PMC, issued by the relevant principal medical officer, or a board medical certificate issued by the Disabled Drivers Medical Board of Appeal. To qualify for such a certificate, an applicant must meet one of six specified criteria as specified in the Finance Act 2020. As the Senator is aware, to qualify for the relief, the vehicle must be specifically constructed or adapted for use by the PMC holder as a disabled driver or, where being transported as a disabled passenger, by a family member or organisation.

I spoke to the Minister of State, Deputy Rabbitte, who was just in the House on a different matter, about this last night in advance of speaking with the Senator today. I know she has conducted an ongoing review and the Department of Finance has been involved with that also. It is about examining the threshold at which a person might qualify for relief. It may be that there are groups of people who do not meet the current threshold but who might qualify for something less than the parameters that have currently been set. It is important that Government look at this in a more holistic way rather than leaving the threshold just as high in every circumstance.

The limit of VRT and VAT reliefs at the moment depends on the PMC holder and the adaptations made to the vehicle. Disabled drivers can receive up to €10,000 for adaptations to the vehicle, which can include installing hand controls, for example, or up to €16,000 if making certain more specific adaptations. Disabled passengers can receive up to €16,000 for adaptations and organisations, as the Senator is aware, can receive up to €16,000 for relevant adaptations if transporting five or fewer PMC holders.

This matter is under review between the Department of Health and the Department of Finance. The Senator's intervention is extremely timely in that regard from the perspective of electric vehicles but also in respect of opening the scheme in a more holistic way to people at different levels of need who might require different levels of support.