Michael McGrath (Cork South Central, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

All this is based on a child of average measurements. When a child is not of average size, for example, he or she is aged ten years, going on 11, and requires size 6 footwear, whether trainers, football boots or whatever else, VAT is paid at the full rate even though the child is under the age at which such products should cease to be zero-rated. On the basis that the child is not of average measurements, the 23% rate applies. The issue here is that the retailers, in pricing these products, have completely separate price ranges. Taking the example of footwear, there is one price range up to size 5.5 and an entirely different price range above that. The problem is that the difference is not just in the VAT rate. Rather, adult footwear is marketed as a completely separate stream of product and at an entirely different price from children's footwear. What might be €40 for a size 5 or 5.5 could be €70 or €80 for a size 6, 7, 8 or 9. This is the reality that parents and families face when it comes to this issue. This is why it needs to be examined. I think what the Minister is essentially saying is that we are in a straitjacket because of EU VAT law, that the age cannot change because it is the age that was set when the directive came into being and that the only flexibility we have is in respect of what the average sizes are for children in that age bracket. It would appear, therefore, that we have very limited flexibility. I acknowledge that some work has been done in this regard but, from what the Minister says, no change will come of it.