Mary Ann O'Brien (Independent) | Oireachtas source

We will soon welcome news from the Minister about his plans, his critical path and his timeline to roll this out in stages. Nirvana cannot be achieved in one month. So many Senators made good contributions that I will take a few points from them. Senator Zappone has had to go to another meeting. If I may be excused for my appalling manners, I never welcomed those in the Visitors' Gallery, who are from different parts of the charity sector. I thank them for coming.

There are Senators here who represent different sectors, including Senator Crown, who is a specialist in cancer treatment, Senators Ó Murchú and Mac Conghail, who represent culture, Senator van Turnhout, who has worked with children, Senators Conway and Eamonn Coghlan, and others representing the interests of children, of Guides, of those with disabilities, of Crumlin Children's Hospital, of sport, and of Úna Ní Dhubhghaill in the back who does all the work. We all need this. Our beneficiaries and donors need it. We need this regulation now. Senator Eamonn Coghlan spoke about brand Crumlin. We are saying that at the top of that umbrella is the brand Ireland charity.

We heard impassioned speeches this evening about the "Prime Time" programme two weeks ago. That is one of the many stories to emerge in recent years of little bites and chews at brand Ireland. We cannot afford for this brand to be damaged and it is only a matter of time before a big story comes and damages our beautiful brand Ireland. We need this regulation to be put in place. We know we have no money. We know we are broke, but there are ways. Of the Government's donation to charity, which is €4 billion, 0.1% would give us €4 million, which could comprise €3 million to run the regulator and €1 million for a beneficiary fund, maybe for a charity that had got into trouble. It is possible.

Senator Quinn spoke about crowd funding. It is the way we have to go in the future. Bill Clinton spoke about this at the Global Irish Economic Forum last year. We cannot even begin to think about crowd funding unless we have our systems and our accountancy and reporting practices in order. I meet people all the time through my relationship with the Jack & Jill Foundation who ask me how to start or close a charity or merge it with another charity, or whether I know of any other suicide charities in Munster or Leinster. I have to say I do not have a clue. These are all simple questions. How can I view the accounts of a charity? The Minister said one can go to the Companies Registration Office. I need my accountant to look into the companies' accounts, because a normal person cannot read the accountancy reports. We need simple information. We need a lovely website that will almost advertise brand Ireland so that we can see clearly what our charities are doing.

In summing up, I thank everybody, because this was a good, robust, cross-party discussion. We need to keep this high on the Minister's to-do list. It is a big undertaking, but Úna and the Minister have received some very good public consultation documents among the 160 submitted. We look forward to hearing from the Minister about his critical path. I thank everyone who contributed.