My view is that such a service would not be liable to vat in Ireland. The general place of supply rules (which determine where vat is charged) indicate that a service is supplied where the recipient is located. As the landlord is based outside the E.U. the service is deemed to be supplied there and Irish vat does not apply. There are exceptions, of course, and this includes where a service is related to immovable property (i.e. land or buildings) Take a look at the attached links and it gives a flavour of what the Revenue consider to be services connected with the supply of immovable property (on which Irish vat would be chargeable) [broken link removed] and [broken link removed]. I agree that to get a definitive answer you'll need to examine the legislation in details.