Michael Noonan (Limerick City, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I draw the Senator's attention to a leaflet issued by the Revenue Commissioners on education, which will be exempt from VAT. The people who spoke to him may be able to work on this. The Revenue Commissioners' leaflet on education sets out that, as a general rule, in order to qualify for the educational VAT exemption, a dance course must satisfy the criteria that it be provided in a classroom setting or a setting that is appropriate to the dance; it must be provided as a structured course with a clear syllabus, either by an individual or a group; it must confer a level of skill or ability which can be evaluated by comparison with the objective standards, generally external assessment; and a relationship must exist as between a student and a teacher or a tutor. That is according to the Revenue Commissioners' leaflet on the particular courses that would be deemed educational courses and would therefore be exempt from VAT. There may be scope there for the Senator's contacts to explore that and to directly contact the Revenue Commissioners, which will make the decision, not the Minister or the Department of Finance.