Brian Hayes (Dublin South West, Fine Gael)
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Question 211: To ask the Tánaiste and Minister for Finance the number of primary and post primary schools who have obtained charitable status from the Revenue Commissioners since the scheme was first introduced; the amount of revenue which the schools in question were able to obtain as a result of donations and other fund-raising events; if the information will be provided for each year since the scheme was introduced; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [1185/08]

Noel Ahern (Dublin North West, Fianna Fail)
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I am advised by the Revenue Commissioners that approximately 420 primary and post-primary schools have been granted charitable tax exemption. A list of bodies which have been granted charitable tax exemption under Section 207 of the Taxes Consolidation Act 1997 is available on the Revenue website at www.revenue.ie.

Since 2001, all primary and post primary schools providing education based on a programme prescribed or approved by the Minister for Education and Science automatically qualify as approved bodies for the purposes of the donations scheme under Section 848A of the Taxes Consolidation Act 1997. There are approximately 4,000 such schools in the State. A full list of all individual bodies approved for the purpose of the donations scheme, as well as the terms and conditions of the scheme and the relevant forms, are available on the Revenue website at www.revenue.ie.

The donations scheme provides tax relief for donations to approved bodies, including eligible charities. The precise arrangements for allowing tax relief on donations to charities varies depending on whether the donor is a PAYE taxpayer, a self-assessed taxpayer, or a company. In the case of a donation by a PAYE taxpayer, the tax relief is given on a 'grossed up' basis to the eligible charity or other approved body, as the case may be, rather than by way of a separate claim to tax relief by the donor. The claim for refunds is made by the eligible charity or approved body. In the case of a self-assessed doner, the relief is claimed by the self-assessed individual himself or herself (and there is no grossing up arrangement). In the case of a company, the company is entitled to claim a deduction for the donation as if it were a trading expense for the relevant accounting period.

I am informed by the Revenue Commissioners that because of these different arrangements for claiming the relief, it is not possible to provide all the information sought by the Deputy (this is because in the case of donations by self-assessed taxpayers and companies, the relief is claimed by the self-assessed or corporate donors rather than refunded to the charity). However, the following table sets out the refunds of tax made by Revenue to primary and post-primary schools in 2006 and 2007, in respect of donations made to them by individual PAYE donors only.

The figures for other years are not readily available.

The Revenue Commissioners have no information concerning the amounts of revenue raised by schools as a result of fundraising events.