Vol. 529 No. 1
514 Mr. Allen asked the Minister for Health and Children if the mobility allowance for the disabled will be terminated in cases where handicapped persons have applied for and received benefits under the disabled drivers scheme administered by the Department of Finance. [2467/01]
The disabled drivers' and disabled passengers' (tax concessions) scheme which comes under the aegis of the Department of Finance and the Revenue Commissioners enables qualifying persons to purchase a new car every two years free of vehicle registration tax and VAT to a maximum of £7,500 if the qualifying person is a driver, and £12,500 if the qualifying person is a passenger. In addition, the scheme provides for the refund of excise duty on up to 600 gallons of fuel per year and for an exemption from annual road tax. It is estimated that the scheme is worth some £22 million per annum to the beneficiaries.
The mobility allowance, which is a monthly payment administered by the health boards, provides financial support to severely disabled people who are unable to walk or use public transport and is intended to enable them to benefit from a change in surroundings, for example, by financing the occasional taxi journey. The rate of the allowance is being doubled to a maximum of £90 per month from 1 April 2001, and from that date persons who benefit from the disabled drivers' and disabled passengers' (tax concessions) scheme will be unable to also avail of the mobility allowance.
By definition, the beneficiaries of the tax-based scheme already have access to transport, which is heavily subsidised by the State, and the object of the new arrangement is to target the increased mobility allowance at eligible people with disabilities who do not enjoy these advantages.
