“How disabled do you have to be?”A Moate man whose arm was partially amputated following a motorbike accident in 2019, has asked “how disabled do you have to be?” after being turned down for a tax relief driving scheme for disabled drivers. Since then, he has been campaigning to have the “outdated“ criteria attached to The Disabled Drivers and Disabled Passengers Scheme to be urgently brought up to modern standards. I'm disabled and I am on disability, so I'm disabled in one way but when it comes to this (primary medical certificate needed for the scheme) I'm not disabled enough.”The Disabled Drivers and Disabled Passengers Scheme (DDS) provides relief from Vehicle Registration Tax (VRT) and VAT on the use of an adapted car, as well as an exemption from motor tax and an annual fuel grant. If an applicant is turned down, they can appeal the decision to the Disabled Drivers Medical Board of Appeals within 28 days. However, David's situation was complicated further by the resignation of Disabled Drivers Medical Board in 2021, which is believed to be due to the strict nature of the criteria.

Source: Irish Independent December 05, 2023 08:21 UTC