Dominic Hannigan (Meath East, Labour)
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75. To ask the Minister for Finance if he will consider a change to the VAT regime for travel agents to enable them to offer gross wholesale accommodation prices to Irish agents so they can compete on an equal footing with travel agents from the UK who do not have to charge VAT on their offers and are at a competitive advantage; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [54581/13]

Michael Noonan (Limerick City, Fine Gael)
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I am advised by the Revenue Commissioners that the same VAT rules apply to Travel Agents dealing in Irish accommodation, whether based in Ireland or the UK. Consequently, Irish agents do compete on an equal footing with travel agents in the UK. The supply of wholesale accommodation, that is the sale of a block booking of hotel rooms to another accommodation wholesaler, is not within the Travel Agents Margin scheme, and the normal VAT rules apply whether the wholesaler is based in Ireland or the UK.

The Travel Agents Margin Scheme was introduced with effect from 1 January 2010, following detailed discussions with the travel industry. The scheme deals with the activities carried on by Travel Agents who act in the capacity of a principal when supplying certain travel services such as transport and accommodation, which they have bought in from third parties for onward supply to travellers. Travel agents covered by the scheme have no entitlement to recover the VAT charged by the wholesale accommodation provider, but in turn are only liable for the VAT on their margin and not the full consideration when the service is supplied to a customer. The supply to a customer by a UK or Irish Travel Agent of accommodation in Ireland is within the Margin Scheme.