Disabled Drivers and Passengers Tax Concessions - Adjournment Matters
Dr. Henry: The last time I raised the issue of the need to reassess the medical criteria under which people are assessed for the disabled drivers' and passengers' tax concessions regulations was on 23 June 1999. The then Minister of State, Deputy Cullen, told me an interdepartmental review was being undertaken which would report shortly. Nearly five years later there is no sign of the review. I could reproduce, word for word, my contribution in the House that night but I will not bore the House by doing so. The appeals board members, some of whom have now resigned, wonder if there will ever be evidence of this review, which is extremely important.
The medical criteria for these taxes have existed for the past 35 years. The criteria are old-fashioned because they were brought forward when a limb amputation meant one did not get a new good prosthetic limb. Amputees have said to me that they can run in cross-country races and can get tax concessions, but young people they know, who have serious neurological conditions and are trying to take up jobs, cannot get them. There are situations where the parents of children with serious conditions who live in remote areas cannot get tax concessions. I have in mind, in particular, a man from the Minister for Finance's constituency who contacted me in 1998 to ask if I thought there would be any changes in the tax concessions and if he should go ahead and buy the car. I am glad I did not tell him to delay because goodness knows what state the car would be in by now. He has contacted me again to say he should change his 1998 car and asked if I thought there would be any change in the tax concessions soon. I feel so ashamed writing back to people such as him saying nothing has happened. He quoted a letter I wrote to him some years ago in which I said "Be patient, I am sure something is going to happen". He revised this letter by saying "It is two years on, I have been pretty patient. Nothing has happened."
In the year in which the Special Olympics were held here and we all had such warm feelings about the disabled, it is shameful that the medical criteria have not been updated. It is wrong that people who cannot take public transport are not being given these concessions. The blind who cannot possibly drive a car cannot get any concessions as disabled passengers. I ask the Minister to give me hope that there will be some change. It is important to remember that some of these people, if they got tax concessions regarding being able to drive, could become taxpayers. With the permission of these people, I remember particularly that the appeals board asked me to sit in on some of the cases it was assessing.
I particularly remember one young engineer in his thirties, who was desperate to get back to work, but he had had a stroke and finances were engulfing him. Perhaps he could have paid tax for the last five years if he had been in a position to get these concessions.
Mr. Parlon: I will not be delivering the same speech as the Minister delivered in 1996 because, I understand, there have been quite a number of changes since. This scheme, which originated in 1968, provides valuable tax concessions for disabled drivers and disabled passengers. Over time the benefits were extended and the scheme was put on a statutory basis. The scheme is open to persons, drivers and passengers, with disabilities, who have obtained a primary medical certificate. To qualify for a medical certificate, the person must be severely and permanently disabled and meet one or more of a number of specific medical criteria relating to the use of upper and lower limbs.
Possession of a primary medical certificate entitles a person to benefit from the following reliefs: remission or repayment of vehicle registration tax and a refund of VAT on the purchase of a vehicle; a refund of the VAT on the cost of adaptation of a vehicle, up to a maximum of €9,523 for a disabled driver and €15,872 for a disabled passenger; repayment of excise duty on the motor fuel used in the vehicle for the transport of the disabled person, subject to an annual maximum of 600 gallons, approximately €1,016 per annum at current excise rates; and exemption from the payment of annual road tax to the local authorities.
Annual ongoing relief also includes the possibility of changing a car every two years. The same tax reliefs are available to organisations for qualifying activities, that is, the transport of those disabled who are covered by the scheme. The cost of the scheme has increased significantly in recent years. It came to approximately €35 million in 2002 compared to just under €6.5 million in 1996. The projected cost of the scheme is €37 million in 2003. It is estimated that some 8,350 people with disabilities are actively participating. The average claim for VRT and VAT relief amounts to approximately €5,250. This is what it is worth, on average, on an annualised basis to an individual beneficiary.
There are up to 360,000 persons in Ireland who could be regarded as disabled to some degree or other. These include both persons with medical conditions other than those covered by the scheme and those with medical conditions who are covered. The disabled drivers' and the disabled passengers' scheme carries substantial tax benefits.
The scheme was reviewed by an interdepartmental group chaired by an official from the Department of Justice, Equality and Law Reform. In addition to representatives from that Department, it had representatives from the Department of Finance, the Department of Health and Children, the Department of Social, Community and Family Affairs and the Office of the Revenue Commissioners. The group, which has since reported, examined all aspects of the scheme, including the qualifying medical criteria.
The Senator will appreciate that the report of the review group is complex. As part of it deliberations the group heard oral submissions over a period of five and a half days. In addition, it received over 260 written submissions from interested parties. Many factors have been taken into account by the review group in the formulation of this report. The Minister for Finance is currently considering the issues raised in the context of the objectives to be met and the best use of resources. The issues are difficult and many different and some conflicting viewpoints have to be taken into account. It is envisaged that the report will be published once the deliberative process is completed.
The great interest shown by various groups in seeking access to the scheme is understandable. The benefits are significant on an individual basis. Nevertheless, it is important that we review how the scheme can be operated in a fair, focused and manageable manner within available resources for those whom it can most effectively assist. I trust the House can share in this goal.
Dr. Henry: I do not think the workings of the review group are complex at all. This is a disgrace and I am absolutely horrified. Professor Niamh Brennan complained because she has been waiting since April for the Department of Health and Children to do something about a report she produced. Can the Minister of State imagine how I am going to go back to people who have been waiting for over five years? It is not complex, it is just mean spirited. Only a tiny percentage of people are getting any relief in this area and it is the most mean spirited thing I have seen for a long time. I know of one particularly serious case where the person has been to see the Minister for Finance to try to appraise him of his terrible difficulties. What kind of review is going on for decade after decade while people are in such a dreadful position? This reply makes me even more angry than I was before I came into the House tonight. One feels so ashamed being contacted by people who have such very serious problems and having to tell them - I know the Minister of State did not write this himself - that "the Senator will appreciate that the report of the review group is complex".
Mr. Parlon: I remind the Senator again that the scheme has increased in cost from €6.5 million to €35 million. Almost 8,500 people have benefited and I am sure they appreciate the substantial relief that is there. The report is almost ready and I am sure it will be made available. Decisions will be taken by the Minister for Finance within the resources available.
Dr. Henry: It is a very serious problem for the appeals board because it cannot be seen to be bending the rules, so the medical criteria have got to change.
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