A Senator has called on the Government to lobby the EU to allow them to cut VAT on sunscreen.
Currently, VAT on sunscreen is charged at the standard rate of 23%.
However, Fine Gael Senator Maria Byrne argued sunscreen should not be treated as an ordinary supermarket item, but as an essential health product.
“The average bottle of sunscreen is somewhere around €20 and of that there's almost €5 in VAT on it,” she told Lunchtime Live.
“It is an EU directive, it is under European law; with the presidency coming up, we should be pushing for a 0% VAT rate on it because 14,000 people every year are diagnosed with some form of skin cancer.
“It's quite high.”
People enjoy the sunshine at Sandycove beach in Dublin. Picture by: Leah Farrell/RollingNews.Currently, sunscreen is classified as a cosmetic product under EU law and as such the Government lacks the competency to reduce the VAT.
However, Senator Byrne believes the Government should use the opportunity of the EU Presidency to lobby member states to change the law.
“The sun isn't going to go away,” she said.
“We've had gorgeous weather for the last couple of days; people have been out, I've seen people that are sunburned - they should be using sunscreen.
“I suppose when we were all younger, we never knew what sunscreen was but now we're all very aware of it.
“Especially for a family, it is quite expensive.”
The HSE advises that most people in Ireland “do not apply enough” and most adults need six to eight teaspoons to cover their entire body.
They also advise applying it 20 to 30 minutes before going outside and reapplying it every at least every two hours.
Main image: A man using sunscreen. Picture by: Alamy.com.
