Deputy Mary Lou McDonald:

I move amendment No. 22:

In page 6, after line 35, to insert the following:"(2) Such a person under section 5(1)(b), where the employer has been issued a CHY number by the Revenue Commissioners, provided that the relevant communications relate to relevant matters that concern the advocacy or other advancement of the employer’s main charitable purpose, such activity shall be considered to constitute “advocacy activities” and therefore will have no adverse consequence for the employer's charitable status.".

These are all my amendments. They refer to the charitable sector. In the course of the Minister's consultation, charities were keen to tell him that, given their belief that their standing had been damaged to some extent by the controversies that emerged and were explored by the Oireachtas, they wished to be captured within the State's transparency mechanisms, including this legislation. Therefore, I am surprised that their wish has not been reflected in the Bill. For example, The Wheel, on behalf of its 8,000 members, has made clear that it wants to be subject to the transparency and accountability regulations contained in the Bill. It believes that the legislation should set out to cover its advocacy activities consistent with advancing its legitimate, charitable purpose. It has received advice from the Revenue Commissioners that this is a complex procedure. As such, my amendment to section 5 on the meaning of "carrying on lobbying activities" tries to capture charities' need and wish to be included so that there is no uncertainty in the public mind about their transparency and their charitable status in the eyes of Revenue is protected. Each of my amendments caters for this issue. If the Minister believes that the wording is imperfect, I would be open to working on it, but accepting the idea behind them is important, not least because the sector has made it clear that it wishes to be captured within this regulatory framework.