Vol. 487 No. 2
84 Mr. McGrath asked the Minister for Education and Science if he will discuss with the Department of Finance the issue of schools registering for VAT to enable additional money to be available for educational resources in view of the money paid by schools on VAT on goods purchased. [3542/98]
The position on the issue of schools registering for VAT is governed by EU VAT law, with which Irish VAT law must comply.
In accordance with the EU Sixth VAT Directive, schools and other educational establishments are exempt from VAT. This means that such bodies do not charge VAT on goods or services that they supply, but as a necessary corollary, they are unable to recover the VAT on goods or services that they receive.
This is the situation which obtains throughout the European Union and it is not open to the Minister for Finance to depart unilaterally from this position.
