Bernard Durkan (Kildare North, Fine Gael)
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Question 114: To ask the Minister for Finance when a P45 and outstanding documentation and entitlement will issue to a person (details supplied) in County Kildare who has left their employment since mid-September 2006; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [37304/06]

Brian Cowen (Laois-Offaly, Fianna Fail)
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I have been advised by the Revenue Commissioners that further information is being sought from the taxpayer's former employer and when received, the taxpayer will be advised of the position without delay.

Catherine Murphy (Kildare North, Independent)
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Question 115: To ask the Minister for Finance the number of child care workers who have availed of the €10,000 tax exemption since its introduction in budget 2006; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [37305/06]

Brian Cowen (Laois-Offaly, Fianna Fail)
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I am advised by the Revenue Commissioners that statistics are not available at this time which would enable the information requested by the Deputy to be provided. Section 13 of the Finance Act 2006 introduced the childminding tax exemption. To avail of the scheme, the care provider must be self-employed (not an employee) and include the gross income in their annual return of income to the Revenue Commissioners. The claim for tax exemption is made in this return. An individual must 'elect' to claim the exemption by notice in writing to the inspector on or before the specified return date for the chargeable period. The specified return date for the 2006 Return is 31 October 2007. However, even with the information contained in these Returns, it will be some time after that before comprehensive statistics are available.

Róisín Shortall (Dublin North West, Labour)
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Question 116: To ask the Minister for Finance his plan to offer a remission of VRT or VAT to taxi drivers who purchase a wheelchair accessible taxi or who adapt an existing taxi to make it wheelchair accessible; the discussions he has had with the taxi regulator in this regard; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [37341/06]

Brian Cowen (Laois-Offaly, Fianna Fail)
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The position is that the application of VAT to goods and services is subject to the requirements of EU VAT law with which Irish VAT law must comply. Passenger transport is exempt from VAT under the EU Sixth VAT Directive. This means that taxis cannot charge VAT on the services they supply and cannot recover VAT on the goods and services that they purchase. Essentially, only VAT registered businesses which charge VAT are able to recover VAT. VAT Refund Orders have in the past been used in a limited way to provide refunds of VAT on certain aids and appliances for the disabled and on medical equipment donated voluntarily to hospitals. However, under EU law, it is no longer possible to introduce new schemes to refund VAT on the purchase of goods or services by non VAT registered persons.

In relation to Vehicle Registration Tax (VRT), I have no plans to reduce or eliminate VRT on taxis. In this regard, it should be recognised that tax reliefs have proved at times to be a blunt, inflexible and expensive means of providing assistance and achieving policy aims which might be more effectively achieved through regulatory or direct expenditure means. VRT on vehicles helps to broaden the tax base and provides an important source of Exchequer revenue. I am asked regularly to introduce tax reliefs for one purpose or another, but to accede to all such requests would lead to an immediate narrowing of the tax base.

My Department has been in contact with the Taxi Regulator and has advised him that there are no plans to reduce or eliminate VRT on taxis. The Taxi Regulator was also advised in that context that if he considered that some form of State assistance was required to facilitate the greater availability and use of taxi and hackney car services for people with disability, he might in the first instance contact his parent Department to allow it to evaluate the matter and any appropriate measures within an overall policy context.