Tony Killeen (Clare, Fianna Fail)

Deputy O'Donoghue will appreciate that one must take a balanced view of these matters.

That was the background against which the decision was taken. It is well to bear in mind that the Commission on Taxation recommended the abolition.

The average income of the artists availing of the scheme is of the order of €32,000. This is a little above the average. Many Deputies will have heard from various artists that the benefits from participation in, or having the availability of, the scheme are considerable for those on fairly low or modest earnings. On that basis, the Government considered that going with the Commission on Taxation proposal was not a good idea. I can assure Deputy Brian Hayes that I have no plans to write memoirs. I regret somewhat that I did not keep a diary of some of the events.

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