Cormac Devlin (Dún Laoghaire, Fianna Fail)
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297. To ask the Minister for Finance if he will review the VAT treatment of veterinary services and companion-animal medicines, including the scope under the EU VAT directive to apply a reduced rate to neutering, vaccination and microchipping provided by registered veterinarians; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [47924/25]

Paschal Donohoe (Dublin Central, Fine Gael)
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I am advised by Revenue that the VAT rating of goods and services is subject to the requirements of EU VAT law, with which Irish VAT law is required to comply. In general, the EU VAT Directive provides that all goods and services are liable to VAT at the standard rate, unless they fall within categories of goods and services specified in Annex III of the VAT Directive, in respect of which Member States may apply a lower rate of VAT.

The supply of veterinary services is not included in Annex III so generally it would fall under the standard rate of VAT across the EU. However, the Directive allows for a Member State’s historic VAT treatment to be maintained under certain strict conditions. On this basis Ireland retains its long-standing application of its reduced rate, currently 13.5%, to the supply of services by veterinarians, including neutering, vaccination and microchipping, in the course of their profession.

The supply of medicines for veterinary purposes are among the categories listed in Annex III to which a Member State may choose to apply a reduced or zero VAT rate, subject to certain conditions. On this basis, Ireland applies the zero rate to the supply of oral medicine for animals, such as farm animals but excluding companion animals, such as dogs and cats. The supply of medicines for companion animals is liable to VAT at the standard rate. Any proposal to change this approach would need to be very carefully considered from Exchequer, policy, legislation, and operational perspectives.