Brian Cowen by Jason O'Toole

Author:Jason O'Toole
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 9781409083016
Publisher: Transworld

8

Finance

The likelihood that Cowen might one day become Taoiseach was greatly increased when in September 2004, following Charlie McCreevy’s departure to Brussels as Ireland’s EU Commissioner, he became Minister for Finance, often viewed as the key preparatory position for the top job.

The move gave Cowen the opportunity to work closer to home. While he had hugely enjoyed the challenge of the foreign affairs portfolio, the constant travelling disrupted his home life more than he liked. But the Department of Finance had its own difficulties. As Cowen explains with wry humour: ‘Finance has probably been the ultimate challenge because you’re “Doctor No” in some senses. It’s quite demanding in terms of the tension that exists between spending departments and Finance.’

It was a demanding time to take over the running of the department, with a budget to be prepared immediately for release in December. That first budget was universally deemed a success; but Cowen soon ran into controversy when he made the decision to reform aspects of the generous tax provisions enjoyed by artists and writers in Ireland. An innovative and progressive measure originally introduced by Charles Haughey, it had enabled many struggling artists and writers to secure a livelihood by exempting them from income tax. Cowen sought to place a cap on the amount of income which could be deemed tax-exempt in order to bring very high-earning artists and writers into the tax net. This move drew strong criticism from the arts community: several prominent Irish authors urged Cowen not to withdraw or restrict the scheme, and a report drawn up by the Arts Council also argued that the scheme should be retained.

Many artists were concerned that putting a cap on the amount of income which would qualify for exemption would compromise what they felt was the original intention of the scheme, that is, to encourage the flourishing of arts and culture in Ireland. Some felt that there was a misplaced public perception that the scheme was only established to help struggling artists. There were also fears that if the cap was introduced with immediate effect it would permit no time for artists to reassess and reorganize their tax affairs to allow for the change. Cowen, on the other hand, was adamant that the intention of the scheme was to assist artists who were struggling financially.

The renowned author John McGahern, who had penned modern classics such as Amongst Women and The Dark, visited Cowen as part of an Arts Council delegation to urge the Minister to retain the exemption. Prior to his meeting with Cowen, McGahern had added his voice to the objections raised by his fellow artists. McGahern argued that ‘the vast majority of artists who benefit under this scheme earn very little from their work . . . [It] is a simple principle and costs little to administer.’ However, Cowen recalls being satisfied after their meeting that McGahern ‘understood’ the thinking behind his proposed tax change. Sadly, in 2006, just a few months after this meeting took place, McGahern died.

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