Editing Mary Robinson (section)

=== Archive and tax avoidance controversy ===
In October 2016, it was revealed in the media that Robinson was planning to donate her archive to [[Mayo County Council]], as part of the development of The Mary Robinson Centre, and had applied to have the archive designated under the Taxes Consolidation Act, 1997, potentially resulting in a personal tax credit to her worth over €2m, arising from the donation of her personal papers. The house proposed to be used for the centre was to be purchased from Robinson's brother for €665,000.<ref name="irishtimes.com" />

The website of the Mary Robinson Centre lists the contents of the proposed archive (valued at €2.5m) as including:
"2,000 books on law and Human Rights 3,800 periodicals; A Master File of the President's engagements from December 1990 to September 1997; The symbolic light in the window of Áras an Uachtaráin from her Presidency; Robinson's personal diaries from 1967 to 1990 and from 1998 to 2001; 325 Archive Cartons..Scrap Books, Cassette Tapes." These papers relate to Robinson's almost 50-year career, spanning her time as a senator and barrister in the 1970s and '80s, her personal papers relating to the presidency and significant papers from the post-presidential period of her career, most notably her time with the United Nations as High Commissioner for Human Rights.<ref name="robcen" />

The project as a whole was condemned as an "expensive vanity project" by historian Diarmuid Ferriter.<ref name="irishtimes.com" /> A member of the fundraising committee for the Centre argued that "Ballina is the same distance to Dublin as Dublin is to Ballina."<ref name="irit63" />{{clarify|date=February 2021}} Chief Executive of Mayo County Council, Peter Hynes (who is also on the board of the Mary Robinson Centre) stated that Robinson had a "legacy as a politician" and that the centre is designed to bring significant academic, tourism, education and economic opportunities to Ballina and the West. Hynes also commented that "The west coast town (of Ballina) has considerable pride in her outstanding career and on-going global leadership and sees the proposed centre as a living institution which will focus global attention and, working in collaboration with the [[University of Galway|National University of Ireland, Galway]], will continue the conversation on topics of fundamental importance."<ref name="robce35" />

Following the reporting of the potential €2m windfall, Robinson announced she would abandon the plan to "gift" the archive to Ballina and instead she said the papers would be "gifted to NUIG, with Mayo County Council having full access to any part of the collection which is required to support the mission of the centre in Ballina".<ref name="irit17" /> In addition she stated that she would now not avail of the tax credit for the donation.