What is a primary medical certificate? It allows a person with a disability to claim back the VAT on their vehicle. It also allows for tax relief on the purchase and adaptation of a vehicle. I have raised this issue on many occasions. This week, HSE community primary care sent me figures on this issue for around the country. Since January 2021, 403 people have been approved, 62 of whom are in north Dublin, while between Limerick, Clare and Tipperary only three have been approved. This is completely unacceptable. Disability cannot be parked. These people need their primary medical certificates. Without them, how can persons with a disability travel to medical appointments, schools, colleges or to get their basic family needs?

First of all, there are two issues here. The primary medical certificate, PMC, assessments fell behind as a result of Covid but the assessment process resumed on 1 January 2021. There are still some delays in the processing of assessments due to the involvement of medical officers in the national Covid-19 response as well as the ongoing public restrictions and those delays are causing undue strain on applicants. However, the HSE has confirmed that the assessment process for PMCs has resumed and data from the HSE show that 401 assessments were carried out between January and March of this year. It will keep the matter of assessments under review in the context of the HSE service recovery restoration plan. The Minister of State, Deputy Rabbitte, met the HSE on 10 March and 13 April to discuss the issues around delays and will keep the matter under review. I know the Minister for Finance, Deputy Donohoe, is reviewing the overall scheme.