Vol. 452 No. 1
19 Mr. Callely asked the Minister for Arts, Culture and the Gaeltacht the progress, if any, which has been made towards introducing a formal mechanism to encourage people to donate painting and works of art to the country since Deputy Callely last raised the matter in May 1994; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [7642/95]
In my reply to Deputy Callely last May I indicated that I was in principle in favour of the introduction of a formal scheme to encourage people to donate paintings and works of art to the State and that my Department was examining how best this might be done. I am pleased to inform the Deputy that the Finance Bill, 1995, published recently, includes a provision for tax relief for donations to national collections of heritage items of pre-eminent importance including paintings and works of art. I am confident that that will prove to be a strong encouragement for the donation of items central to Ireland's cultural heritage and I hope that the proposal will receive wide support in the Oireachtas.
