Pearse Doherty (Donegal South West, Sinn Fein)
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385. To ask the Minister for Health if he will provide a breakdown, in tabular form, per county, of the number of persons who applied for the motorised transport grant scheme for each of the five years preceding the closure of the scheme; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [17778/15]

Pearse Doherty (Donegal South West, Sinn Fein)
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386. To ask the Minister for Health if he will provide a breakdown, in tabular form, per county, of the number of persons who applied for the mobility allowance scheme for each of the five years preceding the closure of the scheme; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [17779/15]

Pearse Doherty (Donegal South West, Sinn Fein)
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387. To ask the Minister for Health the progress of the health (transport supports) Bill; if he is confident this Bill will proceed through the Oireachtas during the current Dáil Éireann; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [17780/15]

Kathleen Lynch (Cork North Central, Labour)
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I propose to take Questions Nos. 385 to 387, inclusive, together.

The information available to the Department is that the number of applications for the Motorised Transport Grant in 2010 was 785. There were 647 applications in 2011 and 436 applications were received by the HSE in 2012 to the end of September that year. The number of applications for Mobility Allowance for 2010 was 821. There were 978 applications in 2011 and 780 applications were received in 2012 to the end of September that year.

The Department is putting together a tabular breakdown of the national figures above by local health area and will forward it to the Deputy as soon as possible. This information relates to 2010, 2011 and 2012 up to the end of September 2012. The figures for 2008 and 2009 are not readily available.

Work is ongoing on the policy proposals to be brought to Government for the drafting of primary legislation for a new scheme. Once policy proposals have been finalised and approved by Government, the time frame for the introduction of a new scheme will become clearer. The Health (Transport Supports) Bill is included in the Government's legislative programme for 2015. The Department is seeking a solution which would best meet the aim of supporting people with severe disabilities who require additional income to contribute towards the cost of their mobility needs, while remaining within the available budget and satisfying all legal and equality concerns.