Kevin Humphreys (Dublin South East, Labour) | Oireachtas source

With funding from the State to the arts under extreme pressure, it is important we put in place structures to encourage people - wealthy people - to donate money to the arts. That facility must be open to everyone.

The philanthropy leverage initiative is welcome and I hope it succeeds in encouraging more donations to the arts and cultural sector. Corporate sponsorship has been a great support to the arts and cultural organisations in Ireland over the past ten years, but the collapse of our banks and development companies has ended a major source of revenue for the arts. Alternative sources need to be found, and we should encourage the many technology and pharmaceutical companies located here to support the arts. Many new ones have opened in recent months and years and they should be encouraged to support the arts, as was previously outlined.

We have put billions of euro into the banks but what have we got in return? Some of the better pieces of art from AIB and Bank of Ireland's extensive corporate collection have been given to the State, but one item that has not been given is the building currently occupied by Bank of Ireland on College Green where our first parliament sat. As a gesture to the Irish people, the bank should gift to the people of Ireland or to the city of Dublin the building which housed Grattan's Parliament. It is a perfect location for a central library or an arts centre for the city or the country. Should we find ourselves in the position where any further State support has to be given to Bank of Ireland, it should be conditional on the College Green building being handed over to the State. We, the people of Ireland, control 15% of the shares in Bank of Ireland and I call on the Minister for Finance, through our representatives on the board, to ask for the old Irish Parliament building to be given to the State. The bank must recognise the support the people have given to keep it alive as a functioning bank.

The next issue I wish to address is the recent report from the Forum on Philanthropy and Fundraising. It set the worthy goal of increasing giving by 60% from €500 million to €800 million by 2016. However, it proposed a series of changes in tax law to encourage giving. I have a fear of tax breaks, whether they be for nursing homes or for the arts. Providing a tax relief to the wealthy in order that they give more money to worthy causes is questionable in the current climate. If someone wants to give €1 million or €20, the State should not be subsidising their personal choice to give money. That subsidy is at the expense of social services. The Government must make a decision in the common good. A private donor has a choice about to whom or to what he or she gives his or her money. The current rules on tax relief discriminate against the ordinary citizen as one must donate more than €250 to a single charity, if one is a PAYE worker, before one can claim the relief which goes to the charity. I would question any change to the current tax regime.

The report made six proposals on the fiscal and tax infrastructure but there are two about which I would have strong reservations. On the first proposal, I believe relief should be reduced to the standard rate of 20%, as I believe any tax breaks should be, and not 33% as proposed in the report. I agree that the threshold should be lowered from €250. On the second proposal to decouple relief from the high earners restriction, I believe the cap of €80,000 should be lowered, not removed or increased to €1 million. Donations should not require a public subsidy that reduces the amount of State revenue available for democratic decisions of this Parliament. The common good must always win out. Tax breaks will reduce the money we have available for hospitals, school and child care provision.

The notion of allowing companies and wealthy people to decide where their tax euro go is contrary to the democratic good. Many tax exiles decide where they will donate rather than pay taxes in the State.

I have issues with other proposals but I do not have time to go into them. At a time of austerity and reductions in spending across social services, it would be questionable to provide tax relief to millionaires to give to worthy causes of their own selection. If people want to donate their wealth, they should not need a subsidy from the taxpayer.

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