Mr. Conor Woods:

There are approximately 8,500 charities in Ireland, approximately 5,000 of which are incorporated entities which would probably take the legal form of a company limited by guarantee whose structure would be that of a company without any share capital but which would be governed by the Companies Acts 1963 to 2013. The Deputy made a very important point in the context of the cocktail of different types of entities that exist for charities. I do not see that as being a challenge because a charity is a charity is a charity. If it is a charity, it will be governed by the Charities Act irrespective of what legal form it takes. There may be nuances around initial reporting because some charities will report into the Companies Registration Office and others will not because they are not companies. We will be working with the different arms of the State such as the Companies Registration Office and the Revenue Commissioners in ensuring that reporting is streamlined over time so that regardless of the legal form a charity takes, it is under the auspices of the Charities Regulatory Authority and must abide by the regulations stipulated in the Charities Act. The Act is flexible and allows organisations to take different legal forms. Certain jurisdictions have gone down a route whereby if an organisation wants to become a charity, it must become a specific type of legal entity. That is one option that could be explored but it could be years away because there are many hoops to jump between now and then. Certainly, the fact that charities take different legal forms has thrown up challenges in the past because they have different responsibilities in terms of reporting and different obligations as trustees or directors. Directors have fiduciary duties in accordance with the Companies Act whereas trustees do not fall under its remit. Thankfully, we now have an Act that governs all charities.