Colm Burke (Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I welcome the Minister. I also welcome the motion on what is an important issue when one takes into account the fact that there are more than 8,000 charities operating in Ireland which employ and benefit many people. They make a huge contribution to society. However, we do not have a regulator. Coming from a legal background and having worked with voluntary organisations for more than 30 years, I have been alarmed, particularly in the past five to six years, by the number of new groups setting up in this sector. I am concerned about the structures in place for small groups in communities registered as charities, many of which lack experience in this area. As recently as this morning, I made contact with Cork County Council about an organisation which was granted charitable status and is not now functioning but holds a valuable asset. We have reached a situation where we cannot even get the board members to meet.

When people get involved in this area, they should understand there are responsibilities and obligations. If at all possible, we should set up a proper regulatory structure, but there is also a need to improve the familiarisation and mentoring of people who get involved in this area. All the people on the boards of credit unions are acting on a voluntary basis but they have the opportunity to receive training and experience from people working in the area. With regard to charities, we do not have the same kind of structure in place to give that kind of support. We need to work towards that.

The current problem is that, with the reduced funding available for organisations, a number of them are experiencing increased financial pressure. There are people opting out because they are afraid of the consequences of staying on. It is important that proper structures be put in place to ensure the proper accounting and auditing procedures are adhered to. If a charity ceases to operate, any assets it has should come back to the State authorities. I am concerned about this matter.

It is interesting in respect of charities that when we draw down funding from EU level, there are very strict criteria as to how it should be used. I am not at all sure that we have the same level of accountability under our own structures. We need to examine this.

We need to examine issues that arise in respect of the Companies Registration Office. If a group registers a limited liability company and acquires charitable status three years later, what is the position? I am open to correction in my belief that there is no separate section in the Companies Registration Office to identify clearly all the companies that have charitable status. There should be. This would not take a considerable amount of work within the office.

We need to put in place a proper structure. I welcome this debate and the very constructive way in which it was organised. The sooner we put in place the structures intended in the original legislation, the better. While I acknowledge there are financial constraints, we cannot allow the situation to drift as it is doing. We need to put the structures in place at the earliest possible date. Doing so would have my full support.