Is é an t-ábhar gur mhaith liom labhairt faoi inniu ná wigs agus go háirithe an cháin bhreisluacha a bhíonn le híoc ag daoine a bhfuil ailse acu, daoine atá ag déileáil le chemotherapy nó alopecia agus an caillteanas gruaige a tharlaíonn dá bharr. I wish to raise the issue of what I believe to be an unfair VAT charge on medical wigs, which are primarily purchased by cancer patients undergoing chemotherapy or people with alopecia who suffer hair loss. While some European countries have a point-of-sale VAT exemption on medical wigs, Ireland does not. This contrasts with the sale of items such as bras for breast cancer patients and prosthetics which, because of recognised medical need, are automatically categorised as VAT exempt at point of sale.

In the case of patients purchasing medical wigs, the current system allows for patients to reclaim the VAT they have paid once the medical need has been established. This places an unnecessary, onerous and unsympathetic burden on people who already have a lot to contend with in their lives. We could be speaking about mothers going about their daily routines of raising young children and not wanting to them to know the full extent of their illness or elderly cancer patients who are simply trying to look their best when they go out to meet with family and friends.

I recently spoke with Michelle from the Wig Boutique at Amare in my hometown of Ballincollig who told me that its medical wigs range in price from approximately €600 to over €2,500 before VAT. The most expensive medical wig it has for sale costs approximately €3,300 after a VAT rate of 23% has been applied, which equates to a charge of over €600 in VAT. We need to act to bring this into line with other European countries and the sale of comparable medical products in Ireland.