Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 1 October 2013
70. Deputy Mary Lou McDonald asked the Minister for Transport, Tourism and Sport if he has had any discussions with the Department of Justice and Equality regarding the ability of sporting bodies to register as charitable bodies and the potential for this to enhance philanthropy towards sporting bodies. [40897/13]
View answerThis question relates to charitable status for sporting organisations. In order to sustain the development of sport it is important that sporting organisations can secure alternative sources of investment, including philanthropic donations. I believe that there is potential for philanthropy and charitable giving for areas of sport such as programme development and high performance and that charitable status for sporting organisations would be very helpful in this regard. Sport contributes significantly to our society and benefits the community in a variety of ways and in my view sporting organisations should be eligible to apply for approval as charities. The introduction of this measure would also give recognition to the contribution that sport makes to Irish society in terms of the advancement of public health, the economy, tourism, enhancing community welfare and Ireland’s reputation abroad.
One of the benefits of charitable status is the opportunity provided by the tax relief schemes available for charities. While there is an existing scheme for donations to sporting organisations, under Section 847A of the Taxes Consolidation Act, it is restrictive in that it applies only to donations for capital purposes. There is currently no tax relief available for donations for purposes such as programmes aimed at increasing participation and improving performance in sport. In many other countries, including the United Kingdom, such donations qualify for tax relief and have been shown to encourage people to sponsor particular athletes or programmes supporting participation and high performance. As taxation issues are a matter for the Minister for Finance, I have asked him to consider the matter of charitable status for the National Governing Bodies of sport in the upcoming Budget.
