Ms Colette Drinan:

The Charities Regulatory Authority was formally established in 2014 under the Charities Act 2009. It is responsible for the regulation and protection of charitable trusts and organisations. It has a range of statutory powers and duties, including the power to conduct investigations into the affairs of charities.

The 2023 financial statements of the authority recorded total income of €4.8 million, all of which is Oireachtas grant funding from Vote 42 - Rural and Community Development. The authority’s expenditure in 2023 was €4.9 million, which included staff costs of €2.7 million and other administration costs of €2.2 million. The authority reported an operating surplus of €79,000 for the year. A clear audit opinion was given on the 2023 financial statements.

The authority also manages the statutory charity funds account and reports separately on the transactions and balances of the funds account. This account was originally set up to administer assets or funds of any charity that were vested with the predecessor of the Charities Regulatory Authority, that is, the Commissioners of Charitable Donations and Bequests for Ireland. The balance on the charity funds account at the close of 2023 was €1.3 million. Receipts into the funds account during 2023 amounted to €1.67 million, mainly comprising dividends from investments, the proceeds of investment units sold at the direction of participating charities, and administration costs recovered. The payments from the funds account in 2023 mainly represented distribution of those receipts to the charities concerned and the payment of administration costs. A clear audit opinion was given on the 2023 financial statements of this account.

Separate to the charity funds, the authority also operates a common investment fund. This fund was originally set up to support charities, particularly smaller charities, to invest charitable funds collectively that were not required for immediate use and to earn a return on those balances. The common investment fund is separately accounted for and is not subject to audit by the Comptroller and Auditor General. The financial statements of that fund are not presented to the Oireachtas. Access to the investment fund is closed to new members but dividends earned on existing investments can be reinvested. The authority has reported that the value of the investments in the common investment fund at the end of 2023 was €41.6 million.