Mary Ann O'Brien (Independent) | Oireachtas source

I move:

That Seanad Éireann:- commends and expresses thanks for the tremendous work being done by the many thousands of Charities operating in Ireland at present;
- recalls that the Charities Act 2009 was enacted with the aim of supporting and enhancing public trust and confidence in charities, to provide for the statutory registration and regulation of charities operating in Ireland, including the establishment of an independent Charities Regulatory Authority;
understands that there are resource considerations that have led to the deferral for the present of further implementation of the Charities Act, including the establishment of the Charities Regulatory Authority;
- notes that putting in place a dedicated Charities Regulator will help to support and enhance public trust and confidence in the sector and allow it to flourish and reach its full potential particularly aiding the Government's 'National Giving Campaign';
- appreciates and welcomes the recent public consultation conducted by the Minister of Justice, Equality and Defence, Deputy Alan Shatter, designed to explore ways to progress the Charities Act of 2009 which closed on 20 March 2013;
- notes and welcomes that, as stated in the consultation document published by the Department of Justice and Equality on 23 January 2013, statutory independent regulation of the charities sector remains a Government policy objective, and the Department is now working to establish a Charities Regulatory Authority, as provided for in the Act, but taking account of the changed budgetary circumstances;
- acknowledges and welcomes the report published by Senator Mary Ann O'Brien on 26 February 2013 which explores the need for Charity Regulation in Ireland and presents various options for discussion in order to achieve a regulated sector;
- acknowledges the Private Members' motion sponsored by the Independent Taoiseach's Nominees on 27 March 2013 calling for a national debate on the current context and challenges facing the not-for-profit sector with regards to philanthropy, fundraising, sponsorship and private giving in Ireland which was passed by the Seanad without a vote;
- and looks forward to the publication by the Minister for Justice, Equality and Defence, once the review of the submissions received is completed, of the outcome of the consultation and further information regarding the Government's timeframe for the introduction of an operational Charities Regulator and full implementation of the Charities Act.

I welcome the Minister for Justice and Equality to the House. I congratulate him for undertaking to finally implement the post of charity regulator that we are here to discuss today. The post is badly needed in Ireland. Despite an excellent Bill being enacted in 2009 we all know that an economic tsunami hit soon afterwards that almost drowned us all and funding has not been possible.

My motivation for regulating the charity sector started in 1998 when my husband, Mr. Jonathan Irwin, and I co-founded the Jack & Jill Foundation. On our journey with the foundation we came in touch with other charities, with people who joined the foundation and with people who worked as social entrepreneurs and in the charity sector. I can vouch that there are thousands of extraordinary citizens who work for charities. They are guided by a moral and genuine passion for their cause that is exemplified by the activities that they undertake. That is why we are here today to see if we can, following a robust discussion, push for a badly-needed regulator post.

Earlier I published a paper that was designed to explore ways to progress and assist the Minister and his Department. I hope that it also invites thought and discussion on the needs of the charity sector and I mean that in a respectful way. All of us commend the work that has been done. Red tape, bureaucracy and conversation may go with the provision of a regulator but in no way do we mean to criticise the sector because people are 100% dedicated, passionate and work to a level of perfection.

Every couple of weeks there is a media report on charities. Last week in the Evening Herald an ex-CEO was found to have helped himself to cash from ATMs all over the country. Last Thursday I was surprised by a "Prime Time" report and then The Sunday Times published an article on charities last week. However, we do not want to discuss any of the reports in detail here. This is 2013 and we are living in a recession where citizens must scrutinise everything that happens in public life. Charities mainly deal with public money and the Government has given approximately €4 billion to the charity sector. A timebomb is waiting to explode and all it needs is one huge story on charities. We are being drip fed little stories and they have slowly but surely damaged the reputation of the charities sector. Ireland is a nation of givers but donations will decline if there is not transparency. The media feels that it has a right to know the salary of a CEO. Why do some charities respond with the phrase "No comment"? Transparency is required.

I was accompanied on my journey in the sector by a great gentleman called Mr. Conor Woods who works for Russell Brennan Keane. I salute him as he is seated in the Visitors Gallery. He is an expert accountant and also has expertise in corporate governance. I also salute my assistant, Mr. Kevin Kelly. We have all travelled on a long journey. We visited the Office of the Scottish Charity Regulator in Scotland and the Charity Commission in London where everyone was terribly helpful. Both organisations are government funded. They realise that England is going through a hard time and are considering a self-funding model.

At the back of my report there is a business plan to self-fund a regulator for the charity sector. Some may think asking charities to fund a regulator is a touchy-feely idea. Let us consider OSCR which has 23,066 charities registered in Scotland with 23 staff members and costs £3 million which sounds like a lot of money. However, it is possible to provide a regulator without having a vast number of people in an office. Ms Una Ní Dubhghaill is the Minister's main person to drive the initiative in his Department. She has advised me that we should slowly put the regulator post in place because we cannot achieve everything at once, even though she knows that I want everything done straightaway.

I shall outline another issue that I am crazy about. We have approximately 8,000 charities and one can research them on revenue.ie. The Government has given €4 billion to the sector and I am sure that the Minister is aware of that when he sits around a table with the Cabinet to discuss the sector. Imagine what could happen if the Government, academics, statisticians, students and the general public could access a central database to carry out research. People would be able to see how many charities provide for children, autism, health or are registered for foreign aid. The Government could easily check how funds are used and check value for money. There is a great need for such data and a regulator could provide it but that will take time.

Earlier this week I spoke to a famous philanthropic organisation that informed me that ten Irish charities have turned down donations because they felt unwilling - I presume that they felt unable - to produce the financial information to the level sought by foreign donors. We are all aware of the demands placed on businesses today. My company supplies blue chip companies abroad who audit us until we are blue in the face. It does not matter whether it is a British Retail Consortium audit or a financial audit, the same standards must apply to a company like Microsoft if it wants to make a giant donation to an Irish charity. That is another reason to have a regulator.

The Minister might respond to the suggestion standards similar to those required by the Companies Registration Office in respect of a business or SORP, Statement for Recommended Practice, for accounting practices should be put in place for the charities sector. According to Mr. Conor Woods, SORP provides for an extremely high level of accountancy standards recommended by the Office of the Scottish Charity Regulator and the charity regulator in London.

I acknowledge that there is a great deal going on in the country. I congratulate the Minister and his Department on the public consultation process, submissions to which are being sorted. While I acknowledge that this process will take time, we cannot wait until 2015 or 2016. The charities sector is a wonderful one, driven by volunteers and passionate individuals. Looking to best international practice in New Zealand, Scotland, America and England, we cannot in 2013 continue to allow this sector, to which we give €4 billion of taxpayers' money, to go unregulated.