381. Deputy Shónagh Ní Raghallaigh asked the Tánaiste and Minister for Finance the estimated annual cost of extending health expense tax relief to counselling and psychotherapy fees; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [64476/26]

Section 469 of the Taxes Consolidation Act 1997 provides for tax relief where an individual proves that he or she has incurred costs in respect of qualifying health expenses.

Only "health expenses" incurred in the provision of “health care”, which has been carried out or advised by (in certain circumstances) a practitioner, will qualify for tax relief.

Health care is defined as the “prevention, diagnosis, alleviation or treatment of an ailment, injury, infirmity, defect or disability”.

Health expenses are defined as “expenses in respect of the provision of health care” and may include, but are not limited to, the following:

• the services of a practitioner,

• diagnostic procedures carried out on the advice of a practitioner,

• maintenance or treatment necessarily incurred in connection with the services of a practitioner or diagnostic procedures carried out on the advice of a practitioner, and

• drugs or medicines supplied on the prescription of a practitioner.

A practitioner is defined as "any person who is:

• registered in the register established under section 43 of the Medical Practitioners Act 2007,

• registered in the register established under section 26 of the Dentists Act, 1985, or,

• in relation to health care provided outside the State, entitled under the laws of the country in which the care is provided to practice medicine or dentistry there".

In the case of counselling or psychotherapy services, currently relief may be available in circumstances where the practitioner administering the services or referring the individual for a diagnostic procedure, as the case may be, is a qualified practitioner, in accordance with Section 469 of the Taxes Consolidation Act 1997.

I am advised by Revenue that counselling and psychotherapy fees are not separately captured from overall health expenses and, accordingly, it has no data from which to estimate the potential annual cost to the exchequer of extending the relief in the manner outlined by the Deputy.

However, the Deputy may wish to note that the overall cost and the numbers of taxpayer units who availed of health expenses tax relief in the years 2004 – 2024, the latest data available, is in Revenue’s Cost of Tax Expenditures publication, which can be found on the Revenue website.