Niamh Smyth (Cavan-Monaghan, Fianna Fail)
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169. To ask the Minister for Health why a person (details supplied) cannot get a primary care certificate; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [53998/23]

Stephen Donnelly (Wicklow, Fianna Fail)
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To qualify for a Primary Medical Certificate, an applicant must be permanently and severely disabled within the terms of the Disabled Drivers and Disabled Passengers (Tax Concessions) Regulations 1994, and satisfy a range of conditions. Responsibility for the Disabled Drivers and Disabled Passengers (Tax Concessions) Scheme, operated by the Revenue Commissioners, falls under the remit of the Minister for Finance. To qualify for the scheme, an applicant must hold a Primary Medical Certificate.

The extent of the involvement of HSE personnel in the scheme relates to making a professional clinical determination as to whether an individual applicant satisfies the medical criteria set out in the Department of Finance regulations. This determination is undertaken by Senior Medical Officers for the relevant local Health Service Executive (HSE) administrative Community Health Organisation, on behalf of the Revenue Commissioners. These HSE personnel have no role in setting or amending the criteria.

A successful applicant is provided with a Primary Medical Certificate. An unsuccessful applicant can appeal the HSE's Senior Medical Officer's decision to the Disabled Drivers Medical Board of Appeal (DDMBA), which is under the auspices of the Minister for Finance.

Significant progress has been made to convene a new Disabled Drivers Medical Board of Appeals (DDMBA), with all five members now formally appointed by the Minister for Finance. It is expected that appeal hearings will recommence shortly.