Damien English (Meath West, Fine Gael)
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Question 187: To ask the Tánaiste and Minister for Finance if he will examine the feasibility of removing the VAT on road safety products such as cycling helmets, high visibility clothing and so on; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [32337/07]

Brian Cowen (Laois-Offaly, Fianna Fail)
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The VAT rating of goods and services is subject to the requirements of EU VAT law with which Irish VAT law must comply. Under the VAT Directive, Member States may retain the zero rates on goods and services, which have been in place since 1 January 1991, but cannot extend the zero rate to other goods and services. It is therefore not possible under EU law to apply a zero VAT rate to the provision of road safety products. In addition, Member States may only apply the reduced VAT rate to those goods and services which are listed under Annex III of the VAT Directive. While Annex III does specifically list the supply of children's car seats, it does not include other road safety products. The reduced rate cannot therefore be applied to such goods. Therefore the only VAT rate that can apply to the supply of road safety equipment, under EU law, is the standard VAT rate which in Ireland is 21%.