Mr. Danny McCoy:

There are two things about the call for zero VAT. First, VAT is a competence of the EU. If it is not rateable today, it will require the EU rather than here to make that decision. Also, I maintain that what we are observing at the moment is unlikely to be demand suppression. We know Irish households had €110 billion in deposits in the banking system. We have seen during the last phase that Irish households have experienced a €3 billion increase during the pandemic.

It is unlikely that demand stimulation will be required. People will require the confidence to go back out there in terms of the health dimension. While a zero rate of VAT is attractive, a lower rate might be better because at least the State will get some money in return from increased activity. A zero rate of VAT in and of itself, on that particular line item, will raise no revenue.