Written answers
Wednesday, 27 October 2010
Department of Transport
Disabled Drivers
8:00 pm
Michael McGrath (Cork South Central, Fianna Fail)
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Question 339: To ask the Minister for Transport the eligibility criteria for a disabled person's parking card; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [39317/10]
Noel Dempsey (Meath West, Fianna Fail)
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The current position regarding eligibility for the Disabled Persons Parking Permit is set out in the Regulation 43 (1) of the Road Traffic (Traffic and Parking) Regulations 1997 (S.I. No. 182 of 1997). This provides that a Disabled Person Parking Permit may be granted to "a person suffering from a disability that prevents that person from walking or causes undue hardship to the person in walking". Any person, driver or passenger, meeting the eligibility criteria may be granted a permit. Last July I published a Review of the Disabled Parking Scheme which was conducted by my Department and prepared in co-operation with the issuing authorities, the Irish Wheelchair Association and the Disabled Drivers Association of Ireland. I have accepted the recommendations of this Review, one of which is that criteria for eligibility for the Scheme should be refocused from type of disability to actual level of mobility impairment. I believe that this will lead to a fairer distribution of Disabled Persons Parking Permits to those whom the Scheme was originally designed to benefit. Work is under way in my Department to give effect to the recommendations of the Review.
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