Jackie Cahill (Tipperary, Fianna Fail)
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259. To ask the Minister for Finance the current status of the Disabled Drivers Medical Board of appeal; if they are operational; the current processing time; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [4163/23]

Jackie Cahill (Tipperary, Fianna Fail)
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260. To ask the Minister for Finance how an individual undertakes the appeals process, with regard to a primary medical certificate refusal, to the Disabled Drivers Medical Board of Appeal; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [4164/23]

Michael Lowry (Tipperary, Independent)
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275. To ask the Minister for Finance if he will provide an update on the recruitment of the Primary Medical Certificates Appeals Board since the Board's resignation in 2021; the proposals that are being made to address the backlog in appeals made to the Board by persons with disabilities; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [4533/23]

Michael Lowry (Tipperary, Independent)
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276. To ask the Minister for Finance if he will report on the Primary Medical Certificate Appeals Board; the number of applications that are waiting to be processed by the Appeals Board; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [4534/23]

Michael Lowry (Tipperary, Independent)
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277. To ask the Minister for Finance when the primary Medical Certificates Appeals Board will provide a ruling to a person (details supplied) in County Tipperary who has appealed the refusal of a recent application; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [4558/23]

Michael McGrath (Cork South Central, Fianna Fail)
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I propose to take Questions Nos. 259, 260 and 275 to 277, inclusive, together.

The Disabled Drivers & Disabled Passengers Scheme provides relief from VRT and VAT on 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 who also meet the below medical criteria, as a driver or as a passenger and also to certain organisations. In order to qualify for relief, the applicant must hold a Primary Medical Certificate issued by the relevant Senior Area Medical Officer (SAMO) or a Board Medical Certificate issued by the Disabled Driver Medical Board of Appeal. Certain other qualifying criteria apply in relation to the vehicle, in particular that it must be specially constructed or adapted for use by the applicant.

To qualify for a Primary Medical Certificate an applicant must be permanently and severely disabled, and satisfy at least one of the following medical criteria, in order to obtain a Primary Medical Certificate:

- be wholly or almost wholly without the use of both legs;

- 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;

- be without both hands or without both arms;

- be without one or both legs;

- be wholly or almost wholly without the use of both hands or arms and wholly or almost wholly without the use of one leg;

- have the medical condition of dwarfism and have serious difficulties of movement of the lower limbs.

In the event that a PMC is not granted by the relevant Senior Area Medical Officer an appeal may be made to the independent Disabled Drivers Medical Board of Appeal (DDMBA) who operate out of the National Rehabilitation Hospital in Dun Laoghaire.

It is expected that the DDMBA will be established shortly. The background is that following the resignation of all members of the previous DDMBA, effective from 30th November 2021, two Expression of Interest campaigns have been held, seeking suitable candidates for the Board. The Department of Health has led on all actions and tasks with respect to the Expression of Interest Campaigns. Department of Finance officials have provided support to the Department of Health in this matter.

The first campaign closed on 29th April. As there were insufficient suitable candidates arising from the first campaign, a second round was issued with a closing date of 5th July 2022. Five members are legislatively required for a functional Board with a quorum of three needed for any appeal hearing. Two other candidates were recently nominated by the Minister for Health. All five candidates have now successfully completed Garda Vetting.

My officials are currently in the process of finalising details, so that I can appoint the five members to the Board. I am hopeful that the new Board will be up and running in the next few weeks, and once operational, it will consider the best way of ensuring outstanding appeals are addressed as quickly as possible. You should also note that my officials have had two meetings with the nominated members in order to begin the preparations for the commencement of the appeals process.

As of 31^stDecember 2022, there are currently 759 people awaiting an appeal hearing with 382 of those dating back to 2021 and the remaining 377 people applying for an appeal in 2022.

Requests for appeal hearings can be sent to the DDMBA secretary in the National Rehabilitation Hospital (NRH). The NRH provides clinical facilities and staffing (including a secretary) to facilitate the DDMBA in carrying out its remit, and costs incurred are reimbursed to the NRH annually by DFIN. Appeal hearing dates for the outstanding appeals will be issued once the new Board is in place.

You should be aware that assessments for the primary medical certificate, by the HSE, are continuing to take place. In this regard, an important point to make is that even though there has been no appeal mechanism since the previous Board resigned, applicants who have been deemed not to have met one of the six eligibility criteria required for a PMC are entitled to request another PMC assessment six months after an unsuccessful PMC assessment.