Brian Cowen (Laois-Offaly, Fianna Fail)

I will check this. I am only speculating on the figure. The €21 million relates to PAYE donations which were claimed by charities as refunds from the Revenue Commissioners in 2003. The cost of donations by self-employed earners in 2002 will become available later this year, giving additional information. No breakdown will be available on figures between charities and schools because of how the form is structured. In the case of the PAYE sector, it is the charity or the approved body that claims the relief rather than the taxpayer, allowing us to identify what each charity receives. However, for the self-employed sector, information will only be collected on the amounts donated and not on the charities concerned.

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