Mattie McGrath (Tipperary South, Independent)
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124. To ask the Minister for Employment Affairs and Social Protection if she will ensure that exceptional needs payments could be used towards the purchase of a new disability friendly vehicle since the abolition of the motorised transport grant; the supports available for disabled citizens who require a new vehicle;; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [24693/25]

Dara Calleary (Mayo, Fianna Fail)
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Under the Supplementary Welfare Allowance scheme, my Department may make Additional Needs Payments to help meet essential expenses that a person cannot pay from their weekly income. This is an overarching term used to refer to exceptional and urgent needs payments, and certain supplements to assist with ongoing or recurring costs that cannot be met from the customer’s own resources, and which are deemed to be necessary.

The schemes are demand led and payments are made at the discretion of the officers administering the scheme taking into account the requirements of the legislation and all the relevant circumstances of the case in order to ensure that the payments target those most in need of assistance.

Additional Needs Payments are generally not intended to cover circumstances where responsibility rests with another Government Department or Agency.

Currently, the Department of Children, Disability and Equality is leading on the development of the next National Disability Strategy, which will be a framework for collaborative whole-of-government action on disability policy, including transport and mobility.

In addition, the Disabled Drivers and Disabled Passengers Scheme provides a range of tax reliefs linked to the purchase and use of specially constructed or adapted vehicles by drivers and passengers with a disability.

My Department does of course provide support to people with disabilities transport costs in the form of the Free Travel Scheme. The Free Travel Scheme provides free travel on the main public and private transport services for those eligible under the scheme. These include road, rail and ferry services provided by companies such as Bus Átha Cliath, Bus Éireann and Iarnród Éireann, as well as Luas and services provided by over 70 private transport operators.

The objective of the Free Travel Scheme is to ensure older people and people with disabilities remain active within their community by providing access to existing public and private transport routes.

I trust this clarifies the matter for the Deputy.