The firm behind the St Patrick’s Festival (SPF) in Dublin has been hit with a VAT bill of €448,000 after a Revenue Commissioners intervention, its latest accounts show.
The 2024 accounts for Feilte Dhuibh Linne Cuideachta Faoi Theorainn Ráthaíochta (St Patrick’s Dublin Festival Company) also disclose that the Department of Enterprise, Tourism and Employment (DETE) moved last September to provide additional funding of €454,000 to cover the VAT write-off.
The directors confirm in their report attached to the 2024 accounts that there has been an ongoing Revenue compliance and intervention review in relation to the recovery of VAT on purchases by the charity.
The directors state that following this review having concluded in August 2025, Revenue disallowed a significant portion of VAT input credits claimed by the charity dating back as far as the March/April 2023 VAT return.
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This resulted in Revenue disallowing VAT claims totalling €301,000 in the period to August 2024, and an additional €147,000 disallowed up to August 2025.
The directors add that the €448,000 write-off arose from a change in Revenue’s interpretation of the VAT rules.
The exceptional VAT charge of €302,946 for 2024 resulted in the St Patrick’s Festival firm recording a loss of €27,326 for 2024.
Although the charity is reporting negative reserves as at August 31st, 2024, “the injection of additional funding from the DETE and a strong FY2025 have returned the charity to a positive net asset position”, the directors said.
A spokesman for SPF said on Friday: “The VAT adjustment arose following a Revenue review of the application of VAT rules to certain expenditure categories.
“SPF engaged fully and transparently with this process, and the outcome reflects a revised interpretation rather than any issue of noncompliance.
“The department’s funding reflects the importance of the festival as a key national cultural event and supports its continued delivery. Since then, SPF has delivered a strong financial performance, with 2025 delivering an economic impact of €138 million and the 2026 festival attracting over 650,000 attendees,” he added.
In 2024, the festival’s total income amounted to €3.4 million that included grant funding of €1 million from Fáilte Ireland, €846,978 from the Department of Tourism, €438,000 from Dublin City Council and €65,100 from the Arts Council.
The festival also generated €309,304 from sponsorship of the festival and €333,932 from the sale of grandstand tickets, an increase on the €276,240 in grandstand ticket sales in 2023.
The festival’s spend in 2024 totalled €3.36 million, including €2.19 million on festival events that included €416,246 spent on artists and pageants.
