Joan Burton (Dublin West, Labour)

I move amendment No. 13:

In page 13, between lines 15 and 16, to insert the following:

"4.—An approved body pursuant to section 848A of the Principal Act shall make available to the public sufficient particulars of its accounts and such other information as may be required by the Revenue Commissioners."

The purpose of this amendment is to require that charities which benefit from the range of tax breaks now available in respect of charitable donations should be at a minimum required to file and publish accounting information so donors and people who are meant to be the recipients of this charitable giving and the general public can have an idea of how this tax break is being utilised.

In the course of Committee Stage, the Minister stated there has been a considerable extension of the take-up of tax relief in respect of charitable donations. I think he said it is estimated to have cost €21 million in tax breaks in the most recent year for which he has figures. If one assumes the rate of relief is 42% for a considerable amount of the donations, this implies the donors are giving approximately €50 million on which tax relief is subsequently being claimed. It should be borne in mind that there are many people who continuously give to charities and do not claim tax relief. It is therefore a confined number of donors who are taking advantage of the very generous exemptions relating to charitable donations which the former Minister, Mr. Charlie McCreevy, introduced.

When I spoke to the former Minister about this, he referred to the scheme introduced by Deputy Quinn when he was Minister for Finance in commemoration of the Famine and which was specifically intended to assist in the aftermath of the Rwandan genocide. While Deputy McCreevy thought this scheme was good, he decided to expand it. He explained to me that he decided to expand it on foot of his experience of visiting the United States where charitable foundations and charitable giving are very much an established way of life. It is important to note that in the United States there is quite an amount of very detailed regulation at federal and at state level regarding charitable giving. There is a requirement on charitable foundations and trusts to publish accounts and to make accounting information available.

In Ireland, almost all large charities which deal with the Third World or which assist people with a disability are limited companies and therefore are required to produce accounts in accordance with company law. There are significant numbers of registered charities and also significant numbers of religious bodies which are also charities which do not file or publish any form of detailed accounting information. Although the taxpayer gave tax rebates of €21 million in recent years, we have no idea who the beneficiaries are and the use to which the donations were put. I support tax breaks for charitable giving but because there is no charity law in Ireland, I am fearful that it is capable of being abused. I say that because like many Members I have experience of working with many charitable organisations over the years. When scandals occasionally arise in the Irish charity sector they are deeply damaging to the very good work done by the reputable charity organisations which are widespread in this country.

Because public provision is so small, we need charities such as the Society of St. Vincent de Paul to address the level of need in society. Ireland is the second richest country in Europe and yet there is a great need for charitable organisations such as the Society of St. Vincent de Paul to deal with people who are poor. Charitable organisations are desperately required in the field of disability because State services are so inadequate. The country needs good operating charitable not-for-profit organisations providing a range of services because public provision is so small.

Consideration of the introduction of a charity bill is being treated like a football. I worked on it when I was in the Department of Justice, Equality and Law Reform. The heads of the Bill were ready when I left Government. It then travelled around the Departments and is currently resting with the Minister for Community, Rural and Gaeltacht Affairs, Deputy Ó Cuív, who has promised that there will be legislation to govern charities some time soon. A full consultation process was completed and signed off in my time.

I ask the Minister to insert a requirement in the Finance Bill that those charities which benefit from the tax regime available to charities and charitable giving must produce financial accounts to show where the money comes from and where it goes to. It is very easy for the Minister to obtain advice. If, in the Minister's view, this would be too onerous on small charities, he could easily provide that they be required to file a donation statement, that is, a list of donations received and details on how they were expended, while requiring large charities to produce the standard type of accounts stipulated under the Companies Acts. It is easy to be flexible and we want a minimum of bureaucracy. We do not want to hinder those who wish to hold collections for particular events. We already have a model.

Unfortunately, the public has been left in the dark as to which charities are the beneficiaries of the tax break in question, which is valued at €21 million. If this information were published and the public could see who are the beneficiaries, it could encourage small charities to ensure donations they receive are tax efficient. Currently, the tax break tends to be the preserve of larger charities and not-for-profit organisations with a direct knowledge of this field, possibly because they have accountants or tax specialists on their boards or have designed their structures specifically to take advantage of the tax breaks. The Labour Party position is reasonable and it is unbelievable that the Government is unwilling to inform the public who are the beneficiaries of tax breaks.

Concern and Trócaire, because they are companies, provide good information in their accounts which allows one to identify what benefits they receive from the Government's tax regime. We have no idea, however, which of the 6,500 charities, some large and some small, benefit from the €21 million tax break. It is reasonable on the grounds of public accountability that this information be made available.

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