Fergal Browne (Fine Gael)

I move recommendation No. 4:

In page 8, before section 4, to insert the following new section:

"4.—(1) Chapter 1 of Part 15 of the Principal Act is amended by inserting the following section after section 480A:

'480B.—(1) In this section—

"the Act of 1999" means the Irish Sports Council Act 1999;

"amateur sportsperson" means a sportsperson that receives no salaries, fees, wages, bonuses or perquisites as a direct consequence of their participation in an approved sport;

"approved sport" means a sport specified in Appendix 23B;

"the Council" means the Irish Sports Council;

"carded athlete" means an athlete in receipt of funding through the Council carding scheme in the relevant year;

"doping in sport" has the same meaning as set out in section 2 of the Act of 1999;

"high performance amateur sportsperson" means an amateur sportsperson properly affiliated with one of the sports bodies specified in Appendix 23B, that competes at a level that is subject to any measures taken by the Council, in fulfilling its obligations under section 6(1)(d) of the Act of 1999, to combat doping in sport;

"qualifying sportsperson" means a high performance amateur sportsperson that meets the criteria set down by the Council in conjunction with each sports body and not registered with the Council as a carded athlete;

"the sports body" means the relevant body that governs the conduct of each approved sport.

(2) Notwithstanding any other provision of the Income Tax Acts, this section applies where in the year of assessment 2004 or any subsequent year of assessment an amateur sportsperson who is resident in the State for that year of assessment proves to the satisfaction of the Revenue Commissioners that he or she has in that year of assessment been a qualifying sportsperson.

(3) Where this section applies, a qualifying sportsperson shall, on the making of a claim in accordance with subsection (6), be entitled to a tax credit (to be known as the "qualifying sportsperson tax credit" of €2,000).

(4) Relief from income tax under this section shall in all cases be given by means of a tax credit.

(5) Where any relief has been given to a qualifying sportsperson under this section and he or she is not entitled to that relief, as the case may be, that relief shall be withdrawn by whatever means is deemed appropriate by the Revenue Commissioners (including an adjustment to that person's tax credits or the making of an assessment to income tax under Case IV of Schedule D for the year of assessment for which that relief was given).

(6) Any claim for relief under this section-

(a) shall be made in such form as the Revenue Commissioners may from time to time provide, and

(b) shall contain such information and be accompanied by such statement in writing as may be indicated in the said form as the Revenue Commissioners may reasonably require for the purposes of this section.

(7) If a qualifying sportsperson qualifies for the relief under subsection (3) in relation to more than one approved sport, either at the same time or at different times in a year of assessment, he or she shall be treated, for the purpose of the relief under this section, as if he or she qualifies for that relief in respect of one approved sport only in that year of assessment.'.".

My colleague, Deputy Jimmy Deenihan, who put forward this amendment in the Dáil, has seven all-Ireland medals. The Minister for Finance knows how hard it has been to survive in his position for seven years, but to win seven All-Ireland medals is even tougher.