Anne Rabbitte (Galway East, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I welcome all those in the Public Gallery. I thank the Senator for tabling this Commencement matter. Before I read the script I have been provided by the Department of Finance, I note that within the Department of Health I pulled together the working group and decided to chair it myself, much to the surprise of the group, because I was told the Department of Health is not responsible for transport. Regardless of my title as Minister of State with responsibility for disabilities, this is one of the biggest issues that comes across my desk as an elected representative for a rural area, no more than the Senator or the Acting Chairperson. I thank the Senator for raising the matter.

The disabled drivers and disabled passengers scheme provides relief from vehicle registration tax, VRT, and VAT on the purchase and use of an adapted car, as well as an exemption from motor tax and an annual fuel grant. The scheme is open to severely and permanently disabled persons as a driver or as a passenger, as well as to certain charitable organisations. In order to qualify for relief, 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 driver medical board of appeal. To qualify for a medical certificate, an applicant must meet one of six specified criteria. It is important to read into the record the narrow view of the six criteria. They are: to be wholly or almost wholly without the use of both legs; to be 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; to be without both hands or without both arms; to be without one or both legs; to be wholly or almost wholly without the use of both hands or arms and wholly or almost wholly without the use of one leg; or to have the medical condition of dwarfism and have serious difficulties of movement of the lower limbs. That takes no consideration whatsoever of persons born with a congenital condition, such as blindness. It does not take into consideration children or young adults with challenging behavioural needs. It is a very limited and narrow view of what disability is.

To qualify for VRT and VAT reliefs, the vehicle must be specially constructed or adapted for use by the PMC holder as a disabled driver or where being transported as a disabled passenger by a family or by an organisation. The limit of allowable VRT and VAT reliefs 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. Disabled drivers can receive up to €16,000 if making certain specific adaptations. Disabled passengers can receive up to €16,000 for adaptations, while organisations can received up to €16,000 for relevant adaptations if transporting five or fewer PMC holders. Disabled drivers, disabled passengers and organisations transporting fewer or fewer PMC holders can receive up to €22,000 for certain extensive adaptations subject to strict conditions. Revenue data show that only a handful of vehicles, totalling less than 1% as at quarter 3 of 2022, meet conditions to qualify for extensive adaptation limits.

The Senator should note that the disabled drivers and disabled passengers scheme has been reviewed as part of the work of the national disability inclusion strategy, NDIS, transport working group, which I chaired. Its final report was published on 24 February 2023. The final report notes that the scheme is no longer fit for purpose. Introduced in the 1960s, the scheme has an outdated in-or-out medically based policy rationale. It does not meet the needs of a significant group of those with a disability or mobility impairments. It requires individuals to prove they are sufficiently disabled. Any expansion of eligibility criteria will still mean some individuals will not meet the criteria. The administrative and operational model of the scheme is not and never will be fit for purpose in terms of meeting the standards expected of a modern scheme.

The scheme is significantly divergent from international best practice on almost all scheme parameters. Of 32 examples, Ireland is the only one in which a department of finance is solely responsible for the scheme and it is the only country to rely solely on a lump sum tax relief for its vehicle-related provisions. Unlike the provisions in most other countries, the scheme has minimal controls for receipt of provisions, which creates considerable scope for maximisation and misuse of provisions. In short, the scheme has effectively become a vehicle purchase scheme, rather than one for vehicle adaptation. The NDIS transport working group endorses the recommendation to develop a new needs-based grant-aided vehicular adaptation scheme. I hope that answers some of the Senator's queries.