Mr. Thomas Mulholland:

Perhaps I will just run through those figures. As it currently stands, charities with expenditure under €10,000 would be exempt from having to submit accounts to the Charities Regulator. We would propose increasing that to €25,000. That is from €10,000 to €25,000. On the most recent figures, that would benefit 744 charities. This means 744 more charities would not have to file their accounts to it, which is obviously reducing the burden on those, which are, in fairness, small charities. Ms Martin mentioned the charities at the other end of the scale and the current threshold for having an audit. We recognise having an audit is an expensive procedure. Let us face reality - it is an onerous obligation. The limit currently is set at €100,000. We would propose a limit of €250,000. Increasing that to €250,000 would put it at a more realistic level. More than 1,000 charities would benefit from that on the most recent figures. Some 1,000 charities would be removed from the requirement to have an audit, which is to their benefit.