Lynn Boylan (Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

Brilliant. On a more general question, Senator Pauline O'Reilly referred to VAT. She made good points about VAT for repair operations and making it economically viable for those organisations to be able to do that.

Is the Department in consultation with the EU in regard to the VAT schemes? One of the issues we have around sustainable period products is that they are charged at 12.5% whereas disposable sanitary products are actually rated at 0% VAT. If we want to encourage a reduction in waste, and this is a huge area of waste, we need to reform the VAT on a European Union level, or at least negotiate to get the period products that are sustainable put in with the rest of the period products in Ireland. Is there a conversation with the Department on the need to reform the VAT rate at an EU level to address some of these issues?