Dara Calleary (Mayo, Fianna Fail)
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436. To ask the Minister for Health if the review of the mobility allowance scheme and the motorised transport grant scheme has been completed; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [47869/13]

Kathleen Lynch (Cork North Central, Labour)
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Conscious of the position of the Ombudsman that the Mobility Allowance and Motorised Transport Grant schemes were illegal in the context of the Equal Status Acts, both schemes were closed to new recipients on the 26th February earlier this year. Mobility Allowance payments continue to be made on a temporary basis by the Health Service Executive (HSE) to current recipients. These will continue to be made for a further period pending the commencement of new statutory provisions, in the interests of preventing hardship. The Motorised Transport Grant scheme remains closed.

The Inter-Departmental group was asked to develop detailed proposals for the operation of a new scheme or schemes, including eligibility criteria and administrative arrangements, and to report back to Government. The Group has submitted initial proposals to the Minister for consideration.

The Inter-Department group includes senior officials from the Departments of Taoiseach, Health, Social Protection, Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform, Environment, Justice and Equality, Transport, the Office of the Attorney General and the National Disability Authority. The group has met on 8 occasions.

The Government is very conscious of the needs of people with a disability and in particular the Government has a clear policy to support, subject to the resources available to it, the independence of people with disabilities. All of these matters will be taken into consideration when making a decision on future arrangements.