Mr. Conor Woods:

I have the honour to be appointed as chairperson to the Charities Regulatory Authority and look forward to help bringing about a framework of regulation, accountability and transparency to the charity sector. I am from Carnaross, Kells, County Meath, where I live with my wife and our three children. I went to school in Kells Community School and then to Dublin City University where I graduated with an honours degree in accounting and finance in 1995. I qualified as a chartered accountant in 1998 and spent several years in KPMG before joining Kingspan Group PLC in 2003. In 2005, I joined Russell Brennan Keane Chartered Accountants and worked there as a partner for seven years, before leaving in 2013 to establish my own practice in Kells, County Meath. My wife is chartered accountant and we met while we were in KPMG. She also works in the practice with me.

This is an historic moment in the history of the charity and voluntary sector. We have a significant weight on our shoulders and a significant amount of responsibilities. I look forward to embracing all of these challenges and responsibilities with passion, hard work, integrity and honesty. The functions of the Charities Regulatory Authority are clearly defined in the Charities Act 2009.

The role of the authority is enshrined in law.

In conjunction with these functions, there is an immediate need to restore confidence, transparency and assurance to the charity and voluntary sector in Ireland. There is also a need to build a framework for registration, regulation, reporting and compliance. This must be done in a proportionate and balanced manner. We need to work hard on framing this strategy and developing the framework for the delivery of this strategy in the coming years.

Perhaps one of the most important immediate objectives for the board will be to develop the short to medium-term strategy of the authority and to ensure it is rolled out. As the committee is aware and as defined in the Act, the charities regulator will be officially appointed on establishment day. I am delighted to learn that the establishment date is now set at 16 October 2014. This day will crystalise the formal appointment of the charities regulator, the authority and the CEO. This will also crystalise the dissolution of the Office of the Commissioners of Charitable Donations & Bequests in Ireland, which will be integrated into the authority.

There are 16 board members of the Charities Regulatory Authority, including the chairman. The board shall adopt and maintain the highest of standards in how we operate, how it is governed and how it works together as a unit. The board shall implement and adopt best practice corporate governance. In accordance with the code of practice for the governance of State bodies, the board shall establish committees to ensure that it is always informed, that the work of the authority is focused on key areas and that the authority works in a structured and strategic manner. To conclude my opening foreword, I wish to say that I am excited about the work of the Charities Regulatory Authority and the work that I look forward to carrying out as chairman of the authority.