Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 18 April 2023
401. Deputy Jennifer Murnane O'Connor asked the Minister for Finance the timeline for the publication of the review of the disabled drivers and disabled passengers scheme; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [17561/23]
View answerMinister Donohoe committed to a comprehensive review of the Disabled Drivers and Passengers Scheme (DDS) as part of a broader review of mobility supports. In order to achieve this objective, Minister O’Gorman agreed in September 2021 that the DDS review should be incorporated into the work of the National Disability Inclusion Strategy (NDIS) Transport Working Group (TWG).
The National Disability Inclusion Strategy Transport Working Group (TWG), comprising members from a range of Departments, agencies and Disabled Persons Organisations, was tasked under Action 104 to review all Government-funded transport and mobility supports for those with a disability, including the Disabled Drivers and Disabled Passengers Scheme (DDS). Officials from DCEDIY led the work of the group.
The NDIS TWG final report was published on 24 February 2023 and welcomed the proposal put forward by the Department of Finance and the Criteria Sub-Group that the DDS is replaced with a needs-based, grant-aided vehicular adaptation and indicated that the proposal was a clear deliverable on which work could begin in the relatively near future.
The NDIS TWG final report also notes in its conclusion that the DDS is outdated and that the scheme needs to be addressed as a matter of priority.
The reasons that the scheme is considered outdated are as follows:
- Introduced in the 1960s, the DDS has an outdated, ‘in-or-out’, medically-based policy rationale.
- It does not meet the needs of a significant group of those with a disability and with mobility impairments;
- It requires individuals to 'prove' they are sufficiently 'disabled' and any expansion of eligibility criteria will still mean some individuals will not meet the criteria
- The DDS administrative and operational model is not and will never be fit-for-purpose in meeting the standards expected of a modern scheme
- The DDS is significantly divergent from international best practice on almost all scheme parameters.
- Ireland is the only country to provide a lump-sum tax relief, the only country to have a Ministry of Finance solely responsible for vehicle-related provisions, the only country to provide life-long provisions and with the shortest vehicle retention period, i.e. provisions can be renewed every two years.
While the NDIS TWG endorses the proposal to develop a new needs-based, grant-aided vehicular adaptation scheme, the final report does not set out next steps.
It will be a matter for Government as to how to take this matter forward.
