Chris Andrews (Dublin South East, Fianna Fail)

I congratulate the Minister of State at the Department of Community, Rural and Gaeltacht Affairs, Deputy Pat Carey, on introducing this Bill and on his promotion. He will be good for communities around Dublin and he has certainly been good to Finglas. I am glad there was sufficient foresight to share him with the rest of the country. I also congratulate the Minister of State at the Department of Foreign Affairs, Deputy Michael Kitt, on his promotion. He has challenging times ahead but he has certainly set off in the right direction.

I welcome this legislation, which has been in the pipeline for a long time. Much preparation and consultation has been carried out with the various stakeholders and I am delighted to see it includes many important proposals concerning the organisation of charities. Charity work in Ireland has a long history and many charities, such as the Society of St. Vincent de Paul, originated in the 1800s. A number of Irish charities, including Trócaire, GOAL, Gorta and Concern, almost enjoy global status and I commend them on their hard work and success.

There is a proliferation of small local voluntary organisations. I read today that up to 63,000 people are employed in this sector in Ireland, both on a part-time and full-time basis. In my constituency, Dublin South-East, a local group from the Grand Canal area, which is not too far from here, set up a committee to raise money for a special care unit for babies and recently presented a cheque for €34,000 to the National Maternity Hospital in Holles Street. This is a great example of the civic-mindedness, generosity and teamwork that exists at community level in every town and village in Ireland.

On foot of our long-standing tradition of charitable work, it is incumbent on the Government not only to provide relevant supports where appropriate, but also to provide a clear and stable regulatory framework for this growing field of work. I am delighted the Charities Bill will do this and make it easier for volunteers to become involved in charity work in the future.

As already outlined, key aspects of the Bill include the definition of "charitable purpose", a new regulatory authority, a register of charities, an annual activity report by charities to the new authority, a charity appeals tribunal and dissolution of the Commissioners of Charitable Donations and Bequests for Ireland.

This Bill represents the Government's commitment to modernising the charity sector. Everybody will agree that an element of modernising is required. The Bill, together with the Charities Acts 1961 and 1973, will put in place a composite regulatory framework for charities. Having contacted representatives of a number of charities to discuss the legislation with them, I assure the House that it has been broadly welcomed. Most importantly, the Bill will serve to improve the public perception of charities. A certain degree of cynicism about charities has developed over the years, possibly as a result of changed methods of collection, such as what I call plastic bag collections. When plastic bags are posted through our letterboxes, the implication is that the clothes put in them will go to charities. The bags are sometimes associated with businesses which have very little connection with charity. I hope this Bill will clear up many of the negative feelings about charities which are inspired by such operations. I accept that many legitimate charities operate in this manner, but businesses which imply they are charities are causing problems.

This Bill will regulate against fraud and make it easier for charities to become established. It allows for new fundraising methods, such as collection of promises of money by means of direct debit, to be used. Those of us who walk through the city centre on a regular basis are familiar with the so-called "chuggers", or "charity muggers". I am not comfortable with this type of collection by charities because its professional nature just does not feel right. While I do not like it — it is almost aggressive at times — I accept that a case can be made for it.

I would like to discuss two specific aspects of the Bill — the charities regulator and the definition of "charitable purpose". It is proposed that a charities regulatory authority be established to act as an independent regulatory body for the charities sector. The principal role of the authority will be to increase public confidence in charities through effective oversight of such organisations, to encourage better administration of charitable trusts and to provide guidance to charitable organisations, including through the development of codes of practice, which are extremely important. The authority will also have the power to institute investigations, call for documents, search for records, impose sanctions and enforce penalties. While it is important that there is a carrot, there also needs to be a stick.

The authority will act as an excellent point of reference and support in overseeing the charities sector as a whole. I would like to put forward some suggestions for consideration, however. I agree with some speakers that we should be concerned about how the authority is run and who will run it. Such matters will be teased out on Committee Stage. If I had a choice, my preference would be for the authority to be run in-house. The regulator should strengthen its independence. We should bear in mind the costs of regulation and the burden of compliance costs, particularly for smaller organisations. We cannot afford to impede the work of organisations like the one I mentioned in the Grand Canal Street area, which organises a fund for Holles Street Hospital. We have to keep it simple and workable. While the charities sector has become more professional, we do not want it to become over-managed. We do not want regulation simply for the sake of it — we want effective regulation that will protect charities and donors. I would like the regulator to be established as soon as possible — the sooner the better for everybody involved

I would also like to comment on the Bill's proposed definition of "charitable purpose". I welcome the inclusion in this Bill of a definition, as it had previously been a matter solely for the Revenue Commissioners. It has to be a good thing that "charitable purpose" is to be fully defined in primary legislation for the first time. Section 3(1) of the Bill defines each of the following as a "charitable purpose":

(a) the prevention or relief of poverty or economic hardship;

(b) the advancement of education;

(c) the advancement of religion;

(d) any other purpose that is of benefit to the community.

Like many representatives of charities and non-governmental organisations, I am concerned that the promotion of human rights is not explicitly mentioned in this definition, particularly in an age in which human rights abuses are reported in newspapers on a daily basis. I urge the Minister of State, Deputy Michael Kitt, to consider on Committee Stage the inclusion of a reference to "human rights" in the definition. I will certainly support such a move on his part.

Given that human rights are being abused in places like Burma, Darfur, Iraq and North Korea, it is vital that we protect charities which try to promote and protect human rights at home and abroad. Having signed up to the Universal Declaration on Human Rights and many other international human rights treaties, Ireland should reflect its human rights policies in primary legislation. If it can be done in Scottish and English legislation, why can it not be done in Irish legislation? The protection of animal rights is mentioned in the Bill, but human rights are not. I would like to seek clarification on this point. I ask the Minister to address it.

We need to support, rather than discourage, spontaneous community fundraising. There is uncertainty about the implications of the Bill for people who organise or take part in such fundraising in response to disasters such as the tsunami crisis of 2004. As I understand it, all charitable groups of all sizes will have to register with the proposed charities regulatory authority. I am concerned that this provision could act as a deterrent to fundraising. This legislation does not clearly set out the requirements or exceptions which will apply to permits in the case of exceptional one-off community responses to urgent needs. If this matter is not clarified, people might not be willing to organise such responses because they might be afraid of falling foul of the law, which would be a terrible additional consequence for those who have already been affected by tragedy. This aspect of the Bill should be considered further on Committee Stage and exemptions should be made for local, short-term collections.

I welcome the Charities Bill 2007, which will put in place a much-needed framework for the organisation of charitable services in Ireland. While that framework may need to be examined further, it is pleasing that the Bill recognises the long-standing and ever-growing tradition of voluntary work in Ireland. This legislation will increase public confidence in charities and protect charities and donors. We have to safeguard the independence and strength of the proposed charities regulatory authority. We need to revise the Bill's definition of "charitable purpose" to include a reference to "human rights". We should ensure we do not deter those who wish to engage in spontaneous fundraising such as that carried out to raise funds for the Giraffe incubator, to which I alluded earlier. We also need to consider the role of voluntary advocacy groups.

See this speech in context