John Curran (Dublin Mid West, Fianna Fail)

Prior to the publication of the Bill there was an extensive consultation period. The question of sporting bodies attracting charitable status did not emerge at that stage as a matter of any concern. The issue of sporting bodies being eligible for charitable status only emerged in recent weeks and this is surprising in some respects. I have a great appreciation of and involvement in sport. I am not disputing the positive impact it can have. There are many local sporting organisations which I personally support and know their impact. Whether it should be regarded as a charitable purpose is another matter.

Approved bodies within the meaning of section 235 of the Taxes Consolidation Act 1997 are not to be regarded as charitable organisations for the purposes of the Charities Bill. The advancement of sport is not included as a charitable purpose. The Bill seeks to retain the charitable purposes that have developed in common law over many years which form the basis for decisions made by the Revenue Commissioners on eligibility for charitable tax exemptions. The advancement of sport is not currently a charitable purpose in this context. The Bill does not seek to expand or narrow charitable purposes, which adding the advancement of sport would do, but to maintain the status quo.

As I stated on Second Stage, I do not believe considering the inclusion of sporting bodies as charities on the principle basis that a particular advantage might accrue to them under the taxation system is a sound rationale. This is especially the case when, under section 7, the Revenue Commissioners alone have, and will continue to have, responsibility for granting tax exemptions independently of any decision of the proposed charities regulatory authority.

Amendment No. 41 proposes an amendment to tax legislation. The Minister for Finance is responsible for tax law and I could not accept that amendment in this House.

In recent days I have had significant contact from various sporting organisations on this matter. Many of them felt the reason they wanted charitable status was because their tax situation would be somewhat different. That is not the case. From a practical point of view, if this amendment were accepted, sporting organisations which would fall under this regulation would have to comply and submit reports and returns in a way they traditionally might not have done.

Senator Hannigan claimed this was going to be the way for all and ever. That will not be the case. This legislation does not aim to broaden or narrow the boundaries. There will be a mandatory review of the legislation in five years in acknowledgement that what we are trying to do is quite complex. If this amendment were accepted, the next step would be to define what is a sports organisations with a public benefit. Is it, say, the darts team or the GAA club? Having spoken to numerous sporting organisations, their primary concern is that the benefit would be in tax law which this legislation will not address. As this legislation beds in over the next five years before the mandatory review, there may well be substantial changes. Most sporting organisations I have spoken to, including some of the larger ones, realise it is not necessary for the tax benefit provision to be included in the charities legislation.