I wish to refer to one-armed motor car drivers. I make this case because there are about 20 or 25 one armed drivers in this country. I am not making a case for myself, let me clarify that. I had my accident 37 years ago when my car collided with a truck but, in spite of my disability I retained my licence. The rules state that disabled persons who must have motorised transport to secure employment and earn a living will qualify for an allowance. That sounds fine but then the Department of Justice — the people who do the testing — decide you need a special car, an automatic costing an extra £2,000 and they want you to fit special gears and equipment on that car which brings the cost to approximately £4,000 extra. Yet when you apply for the mobility allowance you do not get it, the Department of Health say you do not qualify because you are not severely handicapped. The criteria are very strict they relate to a driver whose disablement is of such a nature that he or she could not drive the motor vehicle unless it was specially constructed or adapted to take account of that disablement. Medical eligibility applies to persons wholly, or almost wholly, without the use of both legs, persons wholly without the use of one of their legs and almost wholly without the use of the other leg, to such an extent that they are severely restricted as to movement of their own limbs; persons without both hands or without both arms or persons without one or both legs.
A colleague of mine had a very serious accident nine years ago and his right leg was so badly injured that he had to have the accelerator changed to the left side to be used by his left leg. He does not qualify for any assistance although it cost him about £4,000 to have his car adapted. There should be a consensus between the Department of Health and the Department of Justice.
In Northern Ireland and England a panel of doctors make the final decision in cases of this kind. Here, the doctors, while they may be sympathetic, are not in a position to do that because the guidelines are very strict in relation to medical eligibility. I would like to see the system changed so that somebody who had an accident could have a medical checkup first. If the doctor or panel of doctors decide that the person is capable of driving without a specially adapted car, the Department should test the person as an ordinary driver and not compel him straightaway to go to all this expense. It is grossly unfair and militates against 20 or 25 people in this country. The medical end seems to cause the problem. It is very clear that without the use of both legs or without the use of both hands you cannot drive safely. People who have lost a limb find that one Department is at variance with an other.
The Minister for Health should amend the rules in relation to medical eligibility to let a group of doctors decide. If a person gets a certificate of fitness to drive, he should be allowed to do the test and not penalised. The insurance companies put a 100 per cent loading on a special licence even if the person has a clean record in relation to driving a car. The person could have been involved in an industrial or agricultural accident which had nothing to do with motoring. I had been driving a car for eight years before I had my accident and, as a result, my insurance was loaded 100 per cent. It increased from £15 to £30 at that time because my insurance was low but the 100 per cent loading remained for five years. If you have no accidents in that time you get back to the normal rate.
I have been driving now for 37 years one-handed and I have never had an accident. I have never even scratched a car, despite the fact that I have driven thousands of miles. I am a victim of this regulation and that is still the case as far as insurance companies are concerned. People with a handicap who are lucky to have a job, need a car to get to work. The price of a car is very high but to have to pay at least £4,000 extra because of a handicap and then be told that one does not qualify for any assistance on medical grounds is not good enough. All modern additions to cars are electronic and radio controlled. They are very elaborate and cost a couple of thousand of pounds. One has to go all the way down to Cork to have one's car adapted because the only firm that now adapts cars is in Cork. It costs a good deal of money to have a car adapted and so one comes out at a great loss.
The same applies when one is seeking a job. despite the fact that I had a certificate of competency and a certificate of fitness, which very few people had 37 years ago, CIE refused even to interview me for a job as a driver. People with disabilities are discriminated against. It is very unfair. I ask the Minister for Health to change the very tight ruling that now stands. People should not need to have lost hands or both legs. When a panel of doctors decide that a person needs a specially adapted car at least the cost of that work should be provided. God knows, that is not too much to ask. On the other hand, a person who has a medical certificate to state that he or she is not a disabled driver and is capable of driving a car, should not have to undergo any special test or provide any special features in his or her car.
I hope the Minister will take up this matter. There are three Ministers involved: the Minister for Health is involved from the medical point of view, the Minister for Finance on the money side and, of course, the Minister for Justice who is in charge of driving tests. I appeal to the Ministers to get together on this issue. In Ireland there could not be more than 20 or 25 people concerned.
A case came to my attention recently of a very severely handicapped man who left the money he received arising out of an accident claim too long with a solicitor, the solicitor went bankrupt, and the handicapped man has not received one penny of his compensation moneys and now faces enormous costs. I have had the use of only one hand for a long time, and I know the kind of costs involved.
I know of a young girl, who was injured in an accident on her way to work, who needs an extra £4,000 to £5,000 to adapt her car but no assistance is available to her.
We should decide what is a disability and what is not a disability. That decision should be made by a panel of doctors. If a certificate states that a person is fit to drive that person should not have to include extra fittings on his or her car or face any extra costs. Most people with disabilities need an automatic car, and the price of an automatic car is higher than that of a manual car. I ask the Minister to take up the matter with his colleagues and, in particular, to amend the medical eligibility clause.
