Sorca Clarke (Longford-Westmeath, Sinn Fein)
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549. To ask the Minister for Finance the estimated annual VAT revenue collected from counselling and psychotherapy services. [46527/25]

Sorca Clarke (Longford-Westmeath, Sinn Fein)
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550. To ask the Minister for Finance if his Department has carried out an assessment of the fiscal impact of designating counselling and psychotherapy services as VAT exempt in line with other health services. [46528/25]

Louis O'Hara (Galway East, Sinn Fein)
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564. To ask the Minister for Finance if he plans to designate psychotherapy and counselling services as VAT exempt services; if his Department has undertaken any analysis on the cost of designating these services as VAT exempt services; if so, the amount such a designation would cost; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [46626/25]

Paschal Donohoe (Dublin Central, Fine Gael)
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I propose to take Questions Nos. 549, 550 and 564 together.

I am advised by Revenue that the VAT rating of goods and services is subject to the requirements of the EU VAT Directive with which Irish VAT law is obliged to comply. Under Irish VAT legislation, professional medical care services supplied by recognised medical professionals who are registered on a statutory register in the State are generally exempt from VAT.

The Department of Health is responsible for the legislation governing medical professionals and statutory registers, including, for example, health professionals registered under the Medical Practitioners Act 2007, the Nurses and Midwives Act 2011 and the Health and Social Care Professionals Act 2005. Revenue applies the VAT exemption to the supply of medical services by these professionals as and from the date of their registration.

Regulations made on 2 July 2018 under the Health and Social Care Professionals Act 2005 (Statutory Instrument No. 170 of 2018) designate counsellors and psychotherapists as a regulated profession and establish the Counsellors and Psychotherapists Registration Board. However, I understand that the register of counsellors and psychotherapists envisaged by that legislation has not yet been opened by the relevant health authorities.

Under VAT law, where a medical service is supplied by a person who is not registered in accordance with the appropriate Department of Health legislation, the supply of the service is liable to VAT at the reduced rate, which is currently 13.5%.

I am further advised by Revenue that traders are not required to identify the VAT yield generated from the supply of specific goods and services on their VAT returns. Therefore, it is not possible to provide an estimate of the VAT collected from the specific services referred to by the Deputy.