Vol. 536 No. 4
127 Mr. Durkan asked the Minister for Finance the progress in the past three years in regard to changes sought in respect of the disabled drivers' and passengers' regulations, 1994; if the review has been finalised to the satisfaction of the various bodies or agencies which have made contributions in the context of the review; the number of persons likely to benefit from a relaxation of the regulations; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [14453/01]
As I have informed the House on a number of occasions, the interdepartmental review group, under the chair of an official from the Department of Justice, Equality and Law Reform was set up to review the disabled drivers' and disabled passengers' tax concessions scheme. The principal issue of concern expressed by the public and by public representatives in connection with the reliefs under the scheme was, and still is, in relation to the medical criteria. Arguably, the continual pressure to extend the scheme is driven by its valuable reliefs giving access to tax free cars and motor fuel, in effect, for life. I understand that while no further written or oral submissions are expected the work of the group is ongoing.
The qualifying disability criteria set out in the regulations relate essentially to persons who have severe permanent physical mobility problems. While the number of potential beneficiaries is unclear there are, I believe, up to 350,000 persons in Ireland who could be regarded as disabled to some degree or other. I expect that many of these persons are already fully self-sufficient in terms of private transportation. In any event not all of this number would or could use a widened scheme but the substantial tax benefits make for considerable interest in and desire to be admitted to the scheme.
