Vol. 505 No. 2
117 Mr. N. Ahern asked the Minister for Finance if he will examine the situation whereby VAT is payable by elderly people forced to privately pay for home nursing care through nursing agencies; his views on whether this is unfair to people trying to provide care for themselves; if he will grant an exemption from VAT for such services provided; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [13445/99]
The Value Added Tax Act, 1972, as amended, which transposes EU VAT law, provides for the exemption from VAT of hospital and medical care or treatment which is provided by a hospital, nursing home, clinic or similar establishment.
This exemption also covers nursing services, even where provided by nurses on an individual basis in patients' homes.
There is, however, no specific exemption for nursing services provided by nursing agencies, to either hospitals or to the patients themselves in their own homes. In these cases the VAT charge relates to the provision of the service by an agency in respect of which there is no specific exemption in the EU directive.
