Mr. Paddy Hopkins:

I am honoured to be nominated by the Minister for Justice and Equality, Deputy Frances Fitzgerald, as chairperson-designate of the Charities Regulatory Authority, CRA. I look forward to the challenge and the opportunity to work with the board, the executive and stakeholders to deliver on the statutory obligations of the authority.

I retired just over 18 months ago, having spent most of my work life with Enterprise Ireland and its predecessor organisations. I was appointed a board member of the Charities Regulatory Authority in May 2014 and have also been a member of its finance, audit and risk committee. My professional background is in financial management, corporate governance and corporate administration. Prior to my retirement, I was company secretary and manager of the corporate services division at Enterprise Ireland. In this position, I had responsibility for the company secretaries office, finance with a budget of €300 million, grants administration, legal, facilities-procurement and oversight responsibility for internal audit. I was a member of the Enterprise Ireland executive committee, chairman of the finance committee and a member of the staff resource committee. I was also an Enterprise Ireland nominee director on the Crafts Council of Ireland for six years from 2006 to 2012, as well as chairman of its finance and audit committee.

My experience as a member of the executive senior management team at Enterprise Ireland has prepared me well for the role of chairman of the CRA in particular in the areas of strategy and policy development, corporate governance, audit and risk management and compliance.

Outside of work, I have a keen interest in the voluntary sector and have been involved with the St. Joseph's conference of the Society of St. Vincent de Paul based in Tallaght and its east region finance committee. Following my nomination as chairman designate of the CRA, I have resigned from this position. My work with the Society of St. Vincent de Paul reinforces the importance of the charity sector and the necessity that the public has confidence in its operation. I was also chairman and treasurer of Kilmacud Glenalbyn Sports Club Limited, a not-for-profit company which administers the affairs of a large south Dublin sports complex.

The establishment of the CRA has come at a critical time for the charities sector. For the great majority of charities which are compliant and committed organisations working to improve conditions in our society, the CRA framework is an opportunity to demonstrate to its support base in the community the highest standards of probity. The successful operation of the CRA will, in no small way, assist the sector's ultimate strength and sustainability by providing it with the regulatory and developmental tools needed to operate effectively. This is vital in restoring and building the confidence of the community in the vital work the sector carries out every day. Charities, above all, depend on trust. It is the primary job of the CRA to ensure they are enabled to operate to the highest standards of transparency.

My vision for the board is that the board members and staff of the board will work together to deliver on our mandate as set out under the Charities Act 2009 in a considered, timely and effective manner. Section 14 sets out the functions of the authority. It is critical the authority is seen to be effective in delivering on its mandate. I will be working closely with the staff and our stakeholders to ensure the resources required are put in place.

I want to urgently build on the progress made since establishment. Progress to date includes the development of an online system to facilitate charities applying for registration and supplying information to the CRA. The register currently contains approximately 8,000 charities representing the majority operating in Ireland. These are now registered with the authority. Other progress includes the provision, through its website and active programme of stakeholder engagement, of extensive information to the charities sector on its obligations and duties under the new regulatory regime; the implementation of an interim process for the handling of complaints of alleged abuse of charitable status or fraud in charities, including an initial review and assessment by the CRA to determine whether any further action is appropriate; transfer to and set up of a new office location in Waterloo Road, Dublin 4; sanction in April for ten additional staff; and the establishment and operation at board level of appropriate sub-committees in line with best governance practice.

Short-term objectives for 2015 include: preparing, and having the board approve, a three-year strategy for CRA; further developing of the online registration system and website content; completing processing of new applications by charities under section 39 of the Charities Act 2009; getting necessary staffing resources in place and fully operational; commencing receipt of annual reports and accounts from registered charities; continuing broad engagement with stakeholders, in particular on charity accounting and reporting guidelines; and continuing to develop the capacity to deal with complaints as set out in the interim complaints process pending the introduction of powers under Part 4 of the Charities Act 2009.

I pay tribute to my predecessor, Mr. Conor Woods, who has resigned as chairman for family and personal reasons. Mr. Woods gave huge commitment and leadership to the authority since its formal establishment on 16 October 2014. While he has resigned from the board, he has kindly offered to assist the authority in any way possible into the future.

I intend to fulfil my responsibilities by working closely with the chief executive officer and staff, relying on the expertise, judgment and support of the other members of the board and with the support and assistance of our sponsoring Department, the Department of Justice and Equality.

I thank the committee for its attention. I look forward to the challenge presented to me by this appointment. I sincerely hope that when I report back to the committee, substantial progress will have been achieved in delivering on the CRA mandate.