Alan Kelly (Tipperary, Labour) | Oireachtas source

Regarding donations and donors, we know that quite a number of people leave bequests to charities. What kind of powers does the Charities Regulator use to ensure that the money being left in wills to various different charities does what it says on the tin, namely, goes to the right area and relevant charity and is spent in the way the person, persons or organisations intended it to be spent? Have there ever been instances where anyone in the legal profession has had to be investigated for ignoring or not following instructions 100% regarding the leaving of money to these organisations? What procedures has the Charities Regulator used to follow up in such scenarios? Does it ever carry out random checks in respect of these sort of donations to make sure the money is being spent appropriately to ensure public confidence? I see that the section on donations in its guidelines for charitable organisations states that where donations are made for a specific purpose, the donor's request is honoured. Can Ms Martin give us confidence that this happens?