Vol. 433 No. 1
118 Mr. Flanagan asked the Minister for Finance the reasons correspondence from Deputy Flanagan relating to a person (details supplied) dated February 1993, together with subsequent correspondence and numerous telephone contacts with the Office of the Minister, have all remained unreplied to; and if he will make a statement on the matter.
The representations made by the Deputy concerned an application, by an individual, for the tax concessions provided under the terms of the Disabled Drivers Scheme. The present scheme, which was established in 1989, is currently the subject of a comprehensive review of its operation. This review, which was commenced some time ago, and which has involved consultation with a wide range of interested parties, will, inter alia, be considering the issues raised in the particular case highlighted by the Deputy. Unfortunately, extreme pressures of work, associated with the preparation of this year's budget and Finance Bill, have prevented the completion of the review and it has only been possible to resume work on it very recently.
As I am sure the Deputy will appreciate, it would not have been appropriate to have issued a detailed response to the representations received in advance of the completion of the review. It is now hoped that this review will be completed very shortly and, in accordance with a commitment given on a number of occasions, most recently during the debate on the 1993 Finance Bill, the Opposition spokespersons will be consulted in relation to the review at that stage. Once that consultation process has been completed, a detailed reply can be issued.
Nevertheless, I accept that, in the light of the unavoidable delay in finalising the review, an interim reply should have been issued to the Deputy and I apologise for the fact that such an acknowledgement did not issue in this case. I have now taken steps which are designed to ensure that all representations received from Members of the Oireachtas will, at a minimum, be acknowledged promptly in future.
