Róisín Shortall (Dublin North West, Labour)
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Question 109: To ask the Minister for Finance the steps he has taken to publicise the fact that medical card holders are exempt from the income tax levy, and specifically, to inform medical card holders and their employers or pension providers directly. [8313/09]

Brian Lenihan Jnr (Dublin West, Fianna Fail)
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On the publication of Finance (No. 2) Bill 2008 on 20 November 2008 I clarified in the press conference that the income levy would not be applied to income earners with an entitlement to the medical card. A press release containing this information was published on my Department's website and issued to all national media outlets that day.

In my second stage speech for Finance (No. 2) Bill 2008 on 25 November 2008 in the Dáil, I again clarified that individuals with an entitlement to the medical card would be exempt from the income levy.

In advance of the introduction of the income levy, Revenue met with all the major payroll providers and apprised them of all the features of the income levy including the exemption for those with an entitlement to the medical card.

On 24 November 2008 Revenue published a guide to the income levy on its website. This guide is aimed at the general public, employers, employees and the self employed. It is produced in an easy to read "frequently asked questions" (FAQ) format and sets out in a number of questions and answers how those with an entitlement to a medical card are to be treated for income levy purposes. Revenue notify specific groups, such as pension providers, payroll software developers and other interested parties, of changes to this document on a regular basis.

An "Income Levy Fact Sheet" was circulated to Revenue Public Offices on 14 January 2009 outlining the income levy in general, including details of the medical card exemption. This was made available to all persons who asked for details of the scheme.

The Revenue Aertel pages were also updated, with effect from 16 December 2008, to make a specific mention of the full medical card exemption. This information is available on page 591 (subpage 10) of Aertel.

Since the announcement of the income levy an employer's telephone help-line service has been provided by the Collector-General's Office. This service addresses all queries raised on the operation of the income levy by employers and pension providers.