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

Will the Minister of State take this matter up with the church authorities? It did not come out as a blanket denunciation or order against church gate collections. The Bishop of Ardagh and Clonmacnoise, whose bishopric is in my local area, has not broken his silence on this matter. Members from political parties vow their allegiance to those parties. Daniel O'Connell's Catholic rent of a penny a month established a tradition which still continues. Why can we not carry on the 200-year old tradition of church gate collections?

I will support this legislation and the Minister of State, as will all the Fianna Fáil Party. However, I am concerned that with this legislation we might throw out the baby with the bathwater. With the charities regulatory authority, the appeals mechanism, the agreed codes of practice and so forth, the process may become cumbersome and could daunt, say, a small GAA club in County Westmeath or County Longford grappling to raise some funds for a playing field or hall.

I hope and trust that the common sense of the Minister of State, Deputy Pat Carey, will ensure that it is not overwhelmingly obtuse for those who seek to make a case for charitable status. On balance, the appeals mechanism is a good one. When I was involved in consumer affairs we set up the Small Claims Court. One constantly hears cases on the radio concerning people who have had a bad holiday, or got a bum steer as regards something they have purchased — involving small amounts of money, so that no solicitor is keen to get involved. One can go into the Small Claims Court without a solicitor and make a case. One can say, in effect, that one has purchased a carpet for €589 and that it is faulty, seek recompense and one's case will be heard. More interestingly, the judge does not go on and on and neither does he or she wear a wig, but just gives a decision there and then and the claimant has redress. That is very good, so I hope the appeals mechanism initiative will work out, as I believe it should.

By and large Ireland has benefited. A legislator might get four letters in a week from various organisations. Quite rightly, they write to us looking for subscriptions towards what they are doing because we go to their doors and look for their votes. They are fully entitled to write to us. We get at least three or four imploring letters per week. The legislator reflects on the case, the people involved, the worthiness of the cause and then decides how much to give. I hear people giving out about this but I do not believe it is a cause for disquiet. Rather, it should be followed up on and admired. Sometimes when one attends a community meeting where funding is being sought, one hears the stock line "This country is awash with money and we are just seeking €400,000" or whatever. When I hear the doleful economic forecasts, however, I resolve the next time I hear the country is awash with money to respond, "Oh no, it is not; so there is no point in caterwauling about it all the time and you must live within your budget".

Well done to the Minister of State for following on from what his predecessor, the Minister of State, Deputy Noel Ahern, had done. I hope, at the end of the Second Stage debate, he will reply to my point about the political parties. We do not intend to stay away from the churches. However, I should like to know if we are entitled to be there so long as we are on the public path. I can understand that one cannot be on church property. If they get all shirty about it, there is nothing much one can do about that. However, surely, one is entitled to be on the public path or roadway.

Is there some way in which all this regulation cannot be put forward as a type of quasi-smothering of the enormous spirit of voluntarism which is so evident throughout the country? It keeps many clubhouses going and many facilities in being in rural communities in particular. People have hopes and aspirations and when a club in a small rural area unveils a plan to do something, that plan keeps its members coming. They get someone to draw up a plan, and decide how to make money, with pub quizzes and all types of different activities. I trust such initiatives will not be stifled by the bureaucratic nature of the regulatory authority. I hope that whatever number of persons the Minister of State intends to appoint to the authority, six or nine, they will not decide to poke their noses into everything and cut out much of the good work that already is being done in Ireland.

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