Róisín Shortall (Dublin North West, Social Democrats)
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171.To ask the Minister for Finance further to Parliamentary Question No. 16 of 17 April 2024, the reason the VAT exemption for counsellors and psychotherapists will not apply until the Counsellors and Psychotherapists Registration Board is opened; the reasons this cannot be implemented ahead of registration; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [24650/24]

Michael McGrath (Cork South Central, Fianna Fail)
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As previously outlined , the VAT rating of goods and services is subject to the requirements of EU VAT law with which Irish VAT law must comply. Under our legislation the provision of medical care services by recognised medical professionals are exempt from VAT. However in order for them to be exempt, there has to be a formal registration process thus explaining why counsellors and psychotherapists cannot qualify for the exemption until the Counsellors and Psychotherapists Registration Board is opened.

Questions on the establishment of the Counsellors and Psychotherapists Registration Board and their progress in opening their register are a matter for my colleague, the Minister for Health.

I understand that officials in my Department have engaged with their counterparts in the Department of Health in relation to this matter and have advised them that the VAT exemption in question will apply from the date of registration by the Counsellors and Psychotherapists Registration Board.

In summary, a VAT exemption for psychotherapists and counsellors requires a legal basis and without the registration board there is no legal basis on which to rely.