Mr. Ivan Cooper:

Deputy Ó Cathasaigh has raised some key points about the ability to delist charities, the reporting of significant events, which Ms Myler has spoken to, and using a sledgehammer to crack a nut. In summary, and in general, the thrust of our submission is about the requirement to ensure that the regulatory regime enhances and supports a culture of support for charities rather than a culture which appears to be facilitated by this or by certain provisions in this general scheme, which seems to have to do with empowering the regulator to take action against charities rather than working and discussing with charities to arrive at productive solutions to the challenges the sector and individual organisations face. We really do not want a culture of fear coming to predominate where trustees feel themselves subject to the power of the regulator. The important controls currently in place regarding having to go to the High Court, for example, and regarding decisions to delist were carefully put in place when the original Charities Act was enacted.

They were there because it recognises that the system depends on the willingness of trustees to put their own reputations at stake as well when they step forward to do this public service. We do not really understand where the problem is with the current regime in regard to the powers the regulator already has, which are very significant, and why the need is felt to move so quickly to these powers of delisting or deregistering charities from the regulator. It almost as though, as Deputy Ó Cathasaigh alluded to, the regulator will be empowered to move to having the ability to deregister a charity without having to go through vital steps of due process that we believe are there.

In a general summary, the points have been captured well and Ms Myler elaborated on a couple of them. The main observation we would make is that it appears this legislation is moving, in a kind of unwarranted way, towards giving the regulator even more discretionary powers than it has. That will result in trustees and charities feeling themselves - this is about feeling - to be potentially subject to fairly unlimited powers that I think would lead, in any constitutional circumstance, a reasonable person to say it is an awful lot of power to give an agency, entity or regulator over important organisations, especially when they are dependent on people being willing to come forward voluntarily and do this important work for us.