Following the resignation of all previous members of the Disabled Drivers Medical Board of Appeal (DDMBA) in November 2021, I had hoped that a new DDMBA would have been established by now and that the appeals process would have recommenced.
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 – 3 of them in 2022, and one in April to replace a previously nominated person. The necessary 5 members have now been nominated by the Minister for Health and all have successfully completed Garda vetting. They will be formally appointed by the Minister pending confirmation from the National Rehabilitation Hospital (NRH) that they are willing to again host the Board, following withdrawal of their services in February 2023.
Senior officials from my Department and the Department of Health are actively working to determine financial arrangements for the NRH, who have indicated a willingness to again host the DDMBA once these are in place. It is important to note that requests for appeal hearings can still be sent to the DDMBA secretary based in the NRH.
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 PMC are entitled to request another PMC assessment six months after an unsuccessful PMC assessment.
I have no role in relation to the granting or refusal of PMCs and the HSE and the Medical Board of Appeal must be independent in their clinical determinations.
As at end June there were 1,006 appeals waiting to be heard.
