Vol. 453 No. 4
69 Mr. Haughey asked the Minister for Finance if he will remove vehicle registration tax on wheelchair-accessible taxis as requested by the National Association of Taxi Drivers, The Irish Wheelchair Association, The Central Remedial clinic and others; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [9507/95]
I do not propose to remove VRT from wheelchair accessible taxis. Any such concession is likely to be costly to the Exchequer particularly if pressures arose for extension of relief on competitive grounds to all taxis. I would prefer more targeted action.
In this connection, I should point out that the Department of the Environment sanctioned 50 additional taxi licences in the Dublin area at a nominal cost in 1992 on the basis that the vehicles had to be wheelchair accessible. All of these licences have been taken up thus improving the availability of wheelchair accessible taxis without any cost to the Exchequer. Furthermore, the considerable relief available to qualifying individuals under the Disabled Drivers and Passengers Scheme represent a more targeted approach to assisting the mobility of disabled persons.
