Rónán Mullen (Independent) | Oireachtas source

I apologise for not being here for the start of the meeting. I welcome Mr. Farrelly and wish him the very best in his important work. We are involved with charities in one way or another, whether it is shaking a bucket at the weekend or visiting a local charity that we want to try to assist in whatever way we can. We are all hearing the impact of the wrongdoing of the few. We hear of charities' budgets and how their take from fund-raising has suffered in recent times. Mr. Farrelly is in a very key role in terms of building back confidence through good scrutiny and regulation. I wish Mr. Farrelly all the best with that.

My question may already have been covered during my absence I would not ask the witness to go over old ground so he should disregard it if that is the case. Mr. Farrelly referred to a prosecutable offence where a charity is not regulated. What is the Rubicon that is crossed to establish that an organisation which is not registered as a charity is operating as a charity? We know that one can have different levels of activity such as people doing things for others and sometimes raising money on the back of it. What is the proof point? Is it that they are holding themselves out as a charity and not being registered? Is that then an offence? If Mr. Farrelly could assist me with that information, I would be grateful.

With regard to political activity, the position seems to have changed over the years in that organisations with a charity number or registered charities can be involved in political advocacy around changes in legislation or public policy. Will Mr. Farrelly, very briefly, bring the committee up to speed on where things are on that front? Should a problem ever arise in that zone, what is Mr. Farrelly's remit to do anything about it or does he have any capacity to respond in that situation? That is it. The witness has covered everything else in his answers. Thank you.