Mr. John Farrelly:

We have a telephone line for the raising of concerns and refer to the number in our many public engagements. As the eyes and ears of the authority, members of the public telephone and e-mail us and we risk assess and layer each piece of information we receive. The process is conducted manually because our computer system is still being installed. The amount of information we are receiving means the position is tolerable.

It is a matter of trust and verification. Many people are confused about our role because rather than dealing with complaints, our role is to act on information received by verifying compliance with the Charities Act. When we receive information, we contact the relevant organisation which must assure us that the matter is within its scope. If it fails to provide such assurance, the matter is escalated. If we receive a significant amount of unsolicited information on a particular charity, we will examine patterns. We must also take a fair and balanced approach because the issue is one of verifying if the information provided is correct and ensuring the charity in question and its trustees have an opportunity to rectify the matter, depending on risk. We also receive information citing potential risk that may be welfare-related rather than related to the charities legislation. We ensure any such information is forwarded to the Garda, the Health Service Executive, Tusla, animal welfare organisations and so forth.

We must put robust processes in place. We are in the middle of procuring an information technology system, which is every public servant's nightmare. In doing so, we must drive out our processes.