Tax Code
Seanad Éireann — 2026-05-07
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Maria Byrne (FG), Agricultural Panel

I thank the Minister of State for coming to the House to discuss this all-important topic. I am asking the Government to reduce VAT on sunscreen and sun protection factor, SPF, products to 0%. The Irish Cancer Society tells us that over 13,000 people are diagnosed with skin cancer every year. While we encourage people to wear sunscreen and to use SPF products, under law, these are seen as cosmetic products. Under EU law, they are categorised as cosmetic but they are proven to prevent skin cancer. The latter means that these products have been placed in the wrong category. When I raised this matter in August of 2024 and again in June of last year, the then Minister for Finance, former Deputy Michael McGrath, went to the European Commission to see if the categorisation could be changed to pharmaceutical. A lot has happened in this space. In 2022, a 0% VAT rate was applied to hormone replacement therapy, HRT, patches and creams and to sanitary products. While we have come a long way, one of the most effective creams in protecting people from skin cancer is still in a different category. I really cannot figure out why such products are classed as cosmetic.
In some ways, the EU is being contradictory, with certain products in the 0% VAT category and others, like sunscreen, in the 23% category. Some stores have reduced the price of sunscreen to encourage people to use it. For low-income families especially, it is very costly. The price also seems to go up in the summer months. Dermatologists recommend that we should apply sunscreen all year round. We should be pushing to have sunscreen declared a pharmaceutical product and made subject to a 0% rate of VAT. I look forward to the Minister of State's response.

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Record URI: https://data.oireachtas.ie/akn/ie/debateRecord/seanad/2026-05-07/debate/main
Retrieved: 2026-08-14T04:54:54+00:00
Sitting date: 2026-05-07