Michael Harty (Clare, Independent) | Oireachtas source

Do I take it from the Minister's reply that the compensation scheme will not be considered in regard to the budget for 2017? Charities, such as the Irish Red Cross, are providing essential services that the Government is not providing and they fund-raise, sell lines and collect money from schools and GAA clubs. In my county, County Clare, the Red Cross bought an ambulance for public service for €86,000. It raised €76,000 of that fund itself and ended up paying €16,000 in VAT. It does not seem right that it is acting as a tax collector for the Government. There should be some compensation in recognition of its public fund-raising and yet a high proportion of that fund-raising is being returned to the Government. Perhaps the Minister will seriously consider a VAT compensation scheme, which may not return all the VAT but which would return a proportion of it and it would allow charities to provide their services to the maximum extent.

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