Before you start - Who Qualifies?
Disabled or disability are terms which are used in the context of a wide range of situations within the various schemes of the State. Their definition can be different depending on the context of State scheme involved. For the purposes of the EU Disabled Person’s Parking Permit scheme, a disabled person means a person with a permanent condition or disability that severely restricts their ability to walk. Those registered blind are considered to have their ability to walk severely restricted. Proof of blind registration is required by the scheme. The Department (Department of Transport, Tourism and Sport) set out Guidelines for Medical Practitioners in 2011 to assist in defining what level of severity should qualify. For example, there is a specific measure of lung function impairment that qualifies. In a similar example, the level of cardiac restriction that applies would be consistent with the level that would prevent a person from driving.
Primary Medical Certificate
No other scheme in relation to disability has the same criteria as the EU Disabled Persons Parking Permit scheme although the Disabled Drivers and Disabled Passengers Tax Relief Scheme, which supports the obtaining of an adapted vehicle, has more severe criteria for a similar population. The Tax Relief Scheme is open to those who are granted a Primary Medical Certificate by the HSE Senior Area Medical Officer. If a person has been granted a Primary Medical Certificate (PMC), then that person is considered to have already met the criteria for the EU Disabled Persons Parking Permit scheme. Proof of PMC grant (first or second schedules) will be sought but no further medical evidence is required.
