I thank the Deputy for raising this question. Following the resignation of all previous DDMBA members in November 2021, I had hoped that a new DDMBA would have been established by now and that the appeals process would have recommenced.
The Deputy should note that five members are legislatively required for a functional board, however the recruitment of these members has proved to be challenging. In this regard, four expressions of interest campaigns have been organised by the Department of Health, three of them last year and one in April of this year to replace a previously-nominated person. The necessary five members have been nominated by the Minister for Health, with Garda vetting currently being undertaken for the most recently nominated candidate. The process was completed for the other four candidates at the start of the year.
An added complication to the recommencement of the appeals process is that in February of this year, the National Rehabilitation Hospital, NRH, the body that has hosted the appeals board since 2000, indicated its intention to withdraw its services with immediate effect. Officials from the Departments of Finance and Health have been actively seeking to implement new arrangements since, including engaging with the NRH. Some progress has been made on this matter insofar as the NRH has indicated a willingness to once again host the appeals board and the Department is working actively with the NRH to ensure that issues in relation to processing funding are quickly addressed in order that the consideration of appeals can be quickly resumed. It is important to note that requests for appeal hearings can still be sent to the appeals board secretary based in the NRH. I acknowledge the willingness of the NRH to engage with my officials and those from the Department of Health with a view to finding a solution and getting the appeals process back up and running.
Assessments for the primary medical certificate, by the HSE, are continuing to take place. In this regard, an important point to make is that even though there has been no appeal mechanism since the previous board resigned, applicants who have been deemed not to have met one of the six eligibility criteria required for a certificate are entitled to request another assessment six months after an unsuccessful primary medical certificate assessment.
