Mary O'Rourke (Longford-Westmeath, Fianna Fail)

I thank the Minister of State for introducing this legislation and praise him and his predecessor, Minister of State, Deputy Noel Ahern, who put in a considerable amount of work on the matter for a long time, for their diligence in this area.

While the Bill is necessary on many fronts, I share some of the concerns raised by Opposition Members about the number of regulatory bodies to be established. There will be a charities regulatory authority and charity appeals tribunal. I note from the copy of the Minister's speech circulated in the Chamber that they are all spelled with capital letters. I am always doubtful when I see bodies spelled with capital letters. I take it they must be taken very seriously. The charity appeals tribunal, which will be similar to the Small Claims Court, of which I approve, means an appeal can be quickly heard. However, there is a further stream of capitalised terms in the speech such as the "Agreed Codes of Good Practice".

This is fine and dandy and needed to be introduced into legislation. There is no doubt that the charities sector, through no fault of the groups responsible for collecting, has run into some disrepute. Whenever I encounter a charity collector outside my local Dunnes Stores on a Friday morning, I always ask to see his or her identification. Some collectors are affronted and others are not. While I am sure it is for a good cause, there are cases where one does not know. Some collectors take up a position at the door to the shop, making it difficult and somewhat intimidatory when one is pushing a trolley. I do not know if such encounters are covered by the Bill but I hope when the Minister of State replies he will address this point.

I am glad the Minister of State is not increasing bureaucracy in the charities sector, an option which is exercising the Opposition. Too much bureaucracy is not a good thing, something I would like to see in capital letters. The over-bureaucratisation of an activity such as charity collections would be incorrect.

Ireland has a great level of voluntary activity. In Athlone, we recently established a hospice group, for which the level of support is enormous. I hope the group, however, will not be caught up in form-filling and attending the regulatory authority. A bureaucratic aspect will make it uncomfortable for some groups. The Irish people have a strong generous streak. After the Asian tsunami on St. Stephen's Day 2004, all Members will recall the swift manner in which people responded. Being an island nation, the idea of such a ferocious flood may explain part of our generous response.

Political parties have been excluded from the Bill, which is correct. The Fine Gael and Labour parties will empathise with the tradition of church gate collections. Each party has a specified Sunday, a licence is granted by the Garda and a party will have its collection. I recall these collections since I was knee-high to a grasshopper. Is the Minister of State aware that some bishops are objecting to collections for political parties outside their church gates? I can understand their objections if the collection is on church grounds, as it is their property. However, if it is on the footpath outside the church, it is not the bishops' but public property. The collectors, with their tables and posters, are therefore fully entitled to be there. Will the Minister of State address this at the conclusion of Second Stage?

My nearest bishopric, much of which covers my constituency, was recently rapped by a well-known bishop on this matter. While he was not convinced all charities should not be collecting, he was not impressed by the presence of political parties outside his churches.

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