Joe Carey (Clare, Fine Gael)
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Question 45: To ask the Minister for Finance if he will introduce a rebate in the MED1 form for those who privately accessed cervical cancer vaccination following the Department of Health and Children's decision not to introduce a national vaccination programme due to cost factors in 2009, a decision recently changed due to budgetary changes; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [4281/10]

Brian Lenihan Jnr (Dublin West, Fianna Fail)
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The position is that the form Med 1 is the claim form for persons who wish to claim tax relief in respect of health expenses incurred in relation to the provision of health care.

Section 469 of the Taxes Consolidation Act 1997 defines "health care" as the prevention, diagnosis, alleviation or treatment of an ailment, injury, infirmity, defect or disability, and includes care received by a woman in respect of a pregnancy but does not include routine ophthalmic treatment or routine dental treatment. Similarly "health expenses" means expenses in respect of the provision of health care, being expenses representing the cost of:

services of a practitioner,

diagnostic procedures carried out on the advice of a practitioner,

maintenance or treatment in a hospital, or

drugs or medicines supplied on the prescription of a practitioner.

Provided the advice and treatment in question was provided by a medical practitioner, then the expenditure incurred would qualify for health expenses relief.

In the circumstances there is no necessity to make any adjustment to the existing form Med 1.