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Dáil Debates & Questions
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February 17 2010
Parliamentary Questions
PARLIAMENTARY QUESTIONS Deputy Deirdre Clune (FG): asked the Minister for Finance the budget provided to the Disabled Drivers Appeals Board for the years 2000 to 2009; the number of clinics held outside of Dublin by the Disabled Drivers Appeals Board each year from 2000 to 2009; if clinics will be held in Cork or other areas outside Dublin in 2010; the number of persons assessed at these clinics; the cost of these clinics; the waiting list for persons waiting assessment by the Disabled Drivers Appeals Board; the number of persons on the waiting list for the Cork clinic; the number of people on the waiting list for clinics in other areas; the number of persons with disabilities claiming tax reliefs for the purchase and use of vehicles as drivers or passengers in each year from 2000 to 2009; the average tax relief received; if delays in the disabled drivers appeals boards assessment of persons, particularly persons outside of Dublin, applying for disabled drivers and passengers tax relief has affected the number of persons now claiming this tax relief; Minister for Finance (Deputy Brian Lenihan): The Disabled Drivers Medical Board of Appeal is hosted by the National Rehabilitation Hospital (NRH), Rochestown Avenue, Dun Laoghaire, Co. Dublin on behalf of the Department of Finance and the cost of the Board has been recouped to the NRH since 2005 from the Department of Finance Vote. I am therefore providing information in relation to costs for 2005 and the following years.
Vehicles coming under the scheme are also exempt from annual road tax. In the year of purchase of a car a claimant receives benefits relating to the purchase of the car, fuel relief and road tax, in other years the benefits received are in respect of fuel and road tax. The number of claims for VRT relief under the scheme, and the cost of the tax concessions (VRT, VAT and Excise on Fuel) from 2000 is set out in the following table. The cost of the exemption from annual road tax is not readily available but it is estimated to have been around €8m in 2008, bringing the overall cost of the scheme in that year to around €76m. The average total nnualized value of the above benefits is estimated at around €5,500 per claimant in that year.
Deputy Olivia Mitchell (FG): asked the Minister for Health and Children if she will respond to the report published recently by a foundation (details supplied) which recommends increased State financial support to replace dependence on mobile phone recycling; the extension to age six as the qualifying cut off point of State support for services, the last two years of which are currently borne by the foundation from their annual fund-raising; Minister of State at the Department of Health and Children (Deputy John Moloney): The HSE provided funding of €585,000 to the Jack and Jill Foundation in 2009 and will be happy to consider the report “There’s no Place like Home” as part of its engagement with the Foundation this year. Neither my Department nor the HSE were involved in the preparation of this report. I agree that, in general, children’s needs are most appropriately met and provided in the home, and that we need to ensure more efficient use of resources. However, many children availing of services provided by the Jack and Jill Foundation also avail of other disability services, and the report did not compare the respective costs of the home based care provided by the Foundation with the cost of similar services provided by the HSE. The current economic and budgetary position means we can only continue to fund new services by reducing costs and greater efficiency, including achieving greater integration of services provided by the statutory and non-statutory sectors. I should mention in this context that my Department is undertaking a review of the efficiency and effectiveness of the health and personal services provided to people with disabilities. This review is part of the Government’s Value for Money and Policy Review programme. The review will focus, in particular, on the scope for achieving greater efficiency and effectiveness from the substantial resources expended on services for people with disabilities, and will support the future planning and development of such services. I can assure the Deputy that the issues raised in the Jack and Jill Report will be considered as part of that review. Deputy Ruairí Quinn (L): asked the Minister for Community, Rural and Gaeltacht Affairs if he has reduced the funding for the accessible community transport services; if his attention has been drawn to the fact that reductions in funding of the service in Dublin has led to reduced wages for drivers, an increase in fares for those on social welfare payments, the likelihood of a new membership fee and an increased endangering of the viability of the whole operation; if he will consider reversing the cutbacks; Minister for Community, Rural and Gaeltacht Affairs (Deputy Éamon Ó Cuív): The organisation referred to by the Deputy has had a contract with my Department’s Community Services Programme (CSP) for the provision of a range of transport services for people with disabilities. Along with some 315 other organisations, its contract with the CSP expired at the end of December 2009. It has since been extended to the end of 2010 on the same terms and conditions. Under the CSP, the organisation receives one of the larger contributions to deliver services with funding of the order of €289,000 being provided towards the costs of employing a manager and 13.5 full-time equivalents posts in 2010. As the Deputy will appreciate, the pressure on the public finances has significantly impacted on resources available to the programmes delivered by my Department. My priority with respect to the CSP has been to protect the jobs of some 2,700 people employed by the 450 or so community-based organisations approved for support. In order to do this, it was necessary to reduce the level of non-wage grants paid to service providers, as well as cutting technical assistance and administrative costs. I have provided a review process where an immediate examination of the impacts of the reduction in support to organisations can be undertaken. Accessible Community Transport Services lodged an review request in late January and I expect a recommendation to be made to me in respect of this matter no later than the 5th March. Finally, it should be noted that organisations providing services under the CSP are required to develop non-public forms of income by way of charging fees, trading or fund-raising, as the programme is not designed to cover the full operating costs of supported organisations. Deputy Charlie O’Connor (FF): asked the Minister for Education and Science if he will intervene in the situation at a school (details supplied) in Dublin 24 which faces staff cuts by the National Council for Special Needs; his views on the concern and the anxiety of the school community; if he will outline the position regarding this school; Minister for Education and Science (Deputy Batt O’Keeffe): The Deputy will be aware that the National Council for Special Education (NCSE) is an independent agency with responsibility for determining the appropriate staffing levels in relation to the support of pupils with special educational needs in mainstream and special schools. The Deputy will also be aware that the NCSE, through its network of local Special Educational Needs Organisers (SENOs), is at present carrying out a review of Special Needs Assistant (SNA) allocations in all schools with a view to ensuring that the criteria governing the allocation of such posts are properly met. This is an exercise in identifying surplus posts which are in the system and which do not meet the current criteria — posts that have been retained when a pupil’s care needs have diminished or where the pupil has left. The NCSE has advised the school that it is to reduce the number of SNAs by four and that this should be achieved by 19th February. The NCSE has also advised the school that it will not alter the level of teaching staff in the school for the remainder of the current school year. The NCSE is committed to engaging with the school authorities and all other relevant State agencies to manage the situation in the short term and to ensure a sound basis for staff levels in the interest of pupils. My Department has already indicated to the NCSE that it is prepared to attend a meeting with the school if this is considered helpful. The NCSE is also arranging to meet with parents individually in consultation with the school authorities. The Deputy is fully aware that I have prioritised the provision of special education supports to schools. This is a key Government policy. However, this does not mean that resources, allocated in response to various historical factors, are retained in schools ad infinitum. At a time of constrained resources it is essential that we ensure that public resources, both staff and resources, are deployed as effectively as possible. Resources left in an area that are not in accordance with criteria mean public resources are not available for another deserving area. I am sure that the Deputy shares my concern to ensure that there is a consistent application of policy in relation to the allocation of special needs supports across the country. This is all that is happening at the moment. I can assure the Deputy that supports will continue to be made available to schools which have enrolled pupils who qualify for such support and children with special educational needs will continue to have access to an appropriate education in line with my Department’s policy.
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The above costs include the salary costs of the Chairperson of the Board who is a consultant with the NRH and Beaumont Hospital. I understand from the Chairperson of the Medical Board of Appeal, (which is independent in the exercise of its functions), that there are currently no delays for people awaiting an assessment by the Board of Appeal. Clinics are normally held in Dublin and 30 people are generally invited to attend for assessment at a clinic. From time to time, persons appealing a decision not to grant them a Primary Medical Certificate decline an assessment in Dublin. I understand that there is only a very small number of applicants seeking a clinic in Cork. When sufficient numbers warrant it, a clinic is held outside Dublin. Since 2000 three Regional clinics have been held in Cork, the most recent in 2006. The Medical Board of Appeal have informed me that they propose to hold a clinic outside Dublin later in the year. The tax concessions available under the Disabled Drivers and Disabled Passengers (Tax Concessions) Scheme for a qualifying person are as follows.
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