Mobility Scooter Funding in Ireland: HSE Aids, VAT Refunds, Tax Relief and Housing Grants

Quick answer: In Ireland the main public route to a funded mobility aid is the HSE: if an occupational therapist or physiotherapist prescribes an aid and you hold a medical card, a Health Amendment Act card, or are on the Long Term Illness Scheme, you can get it free. If you buy a scooter yourself, you may be able to reclaim the VAT from Revenue and claim tax relief on medical appliances at 20%. Housing grants help with ramps and home changes, not the scooter itself. Checked on official pages in September 2026.

Every Irish funding route at a glance

The HSE: free aids with a medical card

For most people in Ireland, the first stop is an occupational therapist (OT). Citizens Information explains that an OT assesses your ability to do daily tasks such as dressing, eating and bathing, and checks your home to decide what aids and appliances you need, for example a wheelchair, chair lift or downstairs bathroom. An OT can provide aids and appliances from the HSE.

Citizens Information says that if you are prescribed aids and appliances, you can get them free if you have a medical card, a Health Amendment Act card or are on the Long Term Illness Scheme. The Irish Wheelchair Association adds that medical mobility aids are usually free to medical card holders once an OT or physiotherapist has assessed you and recommended the equipment, and that the assessment process and what is provided may vary in different parts of the country.

How to get assessed

• Apply to your local primary care centre for an occupational therapist, or ask for a referral from a public health nurse, your GP, a physiotherapist, a speech and language therapist or a hospital.
• Expect a waiting list: Citizens Information says applications are prioritised according to local need.
• If you cannot wait, the Association of Occupational Therapists of Ireland keeps a directory of OTs in private practice, but a private assessment does not by itself entitle you to HSE equipment.

Will the HSE give you a scooter?

We could not find a current HSE page that says whether mobility scooters are routinely supplied. The HSE’s own aids and appliances pages had moved when we checked. What the official and charity sources do show is that provision follows an OT or physiotherapist assessment of your needs, so ask your therapist directly whether a scooter, a powered wheelchair or another aid is the right prescription for you.

VAT refund on aids and appliances

If you pay for a scooter yourself, check whether you can reclaim the VAT. Revenue says you may reclaim VAT paid on certain aids and appliances for use by people with disabilities. To qualify, goods must be aids and appliances (including parts and accessories) specially constructed or adapted for use by the disabled person, or goods that might be treated that way given the nature of the disability. They must be used to help with essential daily tasks or in the exercise of a vocation.

What to send

• Evidence of the disability from a medical practitioner.
• Invoices or receipts marked paid in full, showing a description of the goods, the cost before VAT, the VAT paid and rate, the total, and the supplier’s VAT number.
• Evidence of any grant or other State aid towards the cost.
• Evidence from a medical practitioner of how the item meets the person’s needs, or from the manufacturer showing how it is specially constructed for people with disabilities.

Claim through eRepayments in myAccount, or on paper using Form VAT 61A, within four years of the end of the VAT period. The claim must be in the name of the person who bought the goods. Services and rental costs do not qualify.

Tax relief on health expenses

Revenue lists the cost of purchasing, maintaining and repairing medical, surgical, dental or nursing appliances among the health expenses you can claim if prescribed, referred or advised by a practitioner. Revenue’s Tax and Duty Manual on health expenses says the cost of a wheelchair or wheelchair lift for a person with a disability, on the advice of a medical practitioner, is allowable. Citizens Information says relief is given at the standard rate of 20%, and you must claim within four years of the year you paid. Scooters are not named in the manual, so keep your practitioner’s advice in writing and check with Revenue before you rely on the relief.

Housing grants: for the home, not the scooter

Two local authority grants help make a home work for a scooter or wheelchair user. Neither pays for the scooter itself.

Mobility Aids Grant Scheme

Since 1 December 2024 the maximum grant is €8,000 and it may cover 100% of the cost of works. It is for households with an income of less than €37,500 a year. Works covered include grab rails, an accessible shower, ramps, a stair-lift and a fixed track hoist, plus other minor work your local authority thinks necessary. The grant does not cover VAT on the work, but Citizens Information says you can apply to Revenue for a VAT refund on the appliances you need.

Housing Adaptation Grant for People with a Disability

This means-tested grant pays up to €40,000 or 100% of the cost, whichever is less, for works such as ramps. If your household income is under €37,500 you may get 100% of the cost; the percentage falls as income rises, and households with a gross income over €75,000 do not qualify. Your OT can give you an assessment report to support the application.

The Disabled Drivers and Disabled Passengers Scheme

This Revenue scheme gives tax reliefs on specially constructed or adapted cars, and a fuel grant of up to 2,730 litres a year, to people with a Primary Medical Certificate (applied for through your Local Health Office). It is about cars, not scooters, but it matters if you plan to carry a scooter in an adapted vehicle. Citizens Information notes that the Department of Transport will review this scheme and develop a new vehicle adaptation scheme under the National Human Rights Strategy for Disabled People 2025 to 2030, and that the older Motorised Transport Grant has been closed to new applicants since 2013.

A sensible order to try

1. Check whether you have, or could get, a medical card or the Long Term Illness Scheme.
2. Ask for an OT assessment through your primary care centre.
3. If you buy privately, keep every receipt and claim the VAT refund and health expenses relief.
4. Use the housing grants for ramps and access so the scooter can be stored and charged safely.

Sources

• Occupational therapy services (citizensinformation.ie)
• Am I entitled to mobility aids and appliances free of charge? (iwa.ie)
• How to reclaim VAT on aids and appliances for persons with disabilities (revenue.ie)
• What are qualifying health expenses? (revenue.ie)
• Tax and Duty Manual Part 15-01-12, Health Expenses (revenue.ie)
• Tax relief on medical expenses (citizensinformation.ie)
• Mobility Aids Grant Scheme (citizensinformation.ie)
• Housing Adaptation Grant for People with a Disability (citizensinformation.ie)
• Tax relief for drivers and passengers with disabilities (citizensinformation.ie)
• Motorised Transport Grant (citizensinformation.ie)