The primary medical certificate is a requirement for the disabled drivers and disabled passengers scheme. A Supreme Court decision in June resulted in uncertainty about the current legal basis for these assessments. Currently the HSE is not processing applications. Is there a timeline for when people can expect these assessments to resume? If legislation is required, it is essential that it is brought forward in a timely manner to ensure that those with disabilities, including those with multiple sclerosis, can access supports provided under the disabled drivers and disabled passengers scheme.

I wish to address the crisis relating to primary medical certificates, which confirm that a person is severely or permanently disabled. In June, the families of two disabled children won a Supreme Court appeal challenging a refusal to allow them to avail of the scheme. Both of the children were wheelchair users. One of the parents told me that when her son visited the area medical officer, his wheelchair did not fit through the door. The boy was ordered to stand up by the medical officer but when he tried to do so, he fell onto the floor. In spite of that, the boy was refused a primary medical certificate. The five judges sitting on the Supreme Court were unanimous in their decision to quash the refusal of the medical certificate for the disabled drivers and disabled passengers scheme. Following the ruling, the Minister for Finance, Deputy Donohoe, suspended the issuing of primary medical certificates, denying hundreds of people their human rights. Can the Tánaiste assure me the scheme will be reinstated with immediate effect?

The Minister, Deputy Donohoe, is working with the Attorney General on a solution to this issue. It arises from a court decision that essentially states there is a dissonance between what is stated in the legislation and what the regulations do. I expect that, at the very least, it will require an amendment to the legislation or the regulations. The Minister is currently working on that.