Novelist John McGahern has added his voice to those calling for the retention of tax exemptions for creative artists, writes Paul Cullen.
Mr McGahern, a member of the Arts Council and a beneficiary of the tax exemption scheme, says Ireland's image abroad would be damaged if the scheme was "tinkered with".
The Department of Finance is reviewing a number of tax exemption schemes, including that for artists, amid claims that high earners are benefiting unfairly.
In a rare foray into the world of political debate, Mr McGahern yesterday joined the chairwoman of the Arts Council, Olive Braiden, and its director, Mary Cloake, at the Oireachtas Committee on Finance to argue for its retention.
Ireland had earned "enormous kudos" from the introduction of the scheme at a time when the country was relatively poor, he argued.
Mr McGahern estimated that if all his income from writing over 40 years was calculated, "it would come to a great deal less than the earnings of the national schoolteacher I once was."
Ms Braiden said it was the Arts Council's "unequivocal" view that the scheme should be retained in its entirety. She said most artists, including well-known and critically acclaimed names, struggle for viability on a year-to-year basis.
Fianna Fáil TDs expressed support for the Arts Council's stance, although Senator Martin Mansergh said people with full-time, pensionable jobs, such as politicians, should not qualify for exemption on books they write.