522. Deputy Ruairí Ó Murchú asked the Minister for Finance further to Parliamentary Question No. 32 of 22 October 2025, if non-medical aids and appliances for people with vision impairment would fall within Annex III of the EU VAT Directive, given the inclusion of goods essential to compensate and overcome disability; if assistive technology would fall within said category where it is not specifically constructed for people with vision impairment but could be reasonably treated as such; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [60193/25]

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.

Point 4 of Annex III lists “medical equipment, appliances, devices, items, aids and protective gear, including health protection masks, normally intended for use in health care or for the use of the disabled, goods essential to compensate and overcome disability, as well as the adaptation, repair, rental and leasing of such goods”.

This provision covers a range of medical equipment and goods either normally intended for use in health care or for the use of disabled persons, as well as the adaptation, repair, rental and leasing of such goods. I am informed by Revenue that the phrase, ‘goods essential to compensate and overcome disability’, refers to the medical equipment, appliances, etc. that are normally intended for the use of disabled persons; the phrase conveys an additional condition regarding the goods already mentioned, rather than constituting a distinct category of goods in itself.