Anne Rabbitte (Galway East, Fianna Fail)
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142. To ask the Minister for Finance if his attention has been drawn to the considerable length of time it will take to introduce changes to the approximately 15,000 retail sites that support the retail export scheme, including upgrades to third-party international acquiring EPOS systems and the redesigning of VAT refund marketing collateral in a post-Brexit no-deal scenario; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [43611/19]

Anne Rabbitte (Galway East, Fianna Fail)
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159. To ask the Minister for Finance if the current retail export scheme refund threshold of €0.01 will be preserved if the UK applies the VAT retail export scheme to EU countries in a post-Brexit no-deal scenario as is the case with duty free shopping; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [43596/19]

Paschal Donohoe (Dublin Central, Fine Gael)
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I propose to take Questions Nos. 142 and 159 together.

The provision concerning the restrictions and conditions that may be applied to the Retail Export Scheme in the event of a no-deal Brexit was included in the Withdrawal of the United Kingdom from the European Union (Consequential Provisions) Act 2019, which became law on March 17 of this year.  At that time, I made clear my intention that if the UK did not extend their Retail Export Scheme to visitors from Ireland in the event of a no-deal Brexit, then I would introduce the restrictions provided for in the Act.  My plans in this regard have been clearly signalled for some time and it is a matter for businesses to factor this development into their preparations. The only change for retailers at an operational level will be that purchases that do not exceed €175 will not be eligible for the scheme, and these purchases will simply go through the retailer’s conventional sales channels.