Arthur Morgan (Louth, Sinn Fein)

I wish the Minister of State, Deputy Pat Carey, comhghairdeas mór and wish him well with his new portfolio. He faces a huge challenge, although he has made a good start by getting out and about and meeting the groups involved. Long may that closeness with the people at the coalface continue. The Minister has been most sincere in that endeavour. He has a huge area of responsibility, which is not unconnected with the spate of shootings and ludicrous murders that has been visited on Irish society in recent times. The drugs problem lies behind those events. It is a huge challenge.

I am tempted to comment on the ludicrous suggestion that the Army should be deployed on the streets. It conjures images of sandbags built up on the corners of roads, barbed wire and gun battles between the Army and the drugs gangs. A better way of dealing with the issue would involve communities coming together with the agencies involved and the Garda to put these people off the streets long before it reaches the gun fight stage. However, that can be discussed at another time.

Sinn Féin welcomes the introduction of the Charities Bill. The legislation has been long promised and is overdue. Until now, the charities sector has been largely unregulated. The Bill has been widely welcomed by community and voluntary organisations. It is in the interest of these and other charitable organisations to have proper regulation of the sector. Sinn Féin welcomes the proposed establishment of a charities regulatory authority and the fact that charities will be obliged to register. This is vital to ensure accountability and to protect against abuse of the tax related exemptions granted to charities or fraud by those purporting to be charities.

Prior to the introduction of the regulation proposed in the Bill, there were real concerns regarding the integrity of some charities and about how much of the money given to charities went to those for whom it was intended. Sinn Féin believes it is vital that once the charities register is up and running, the Revenue Commissioners should make compliance with registration a condition for getting tax exemption status. The Minister should clarify whether this will be the case.

Regarding proposals to exclude from the register organisations which primarily promote political causes, concerns have been raised that this is both unworkable and unfair and will potentially result in some organisations being unfairly excluded as it is impossible to identify what constitutes a political cause. This seems to be a valid concern when one considers the recent incident of the censoring by the Broadcasting Commission of Ireland of Trócaire's campaign on gender equality. A number of other diverse concerns are raised by groups likely to be affected and it is hoped these will be teased out on Committee Stage.

In many cases, charities deliver services which should rightly be delivered by the State and fill gaps in the State's provision of social services. While charities have a role in society, it is not acceptable for the Government to offload social services to the voluntary sector and charities. The explosion of charities in recent years is a symptom of the increasing inequality in our society. In many cases, the growth of charities facilitates the State in negating its role in the provision of housing services, the elimination of poverty and the provision of facilities for the elderly, young people and the disabled.

Charities undertake ever more responsibility for services which should rightly be provided by the State. However, charities still receive the majority of their funding from the State. Estimates indicate that approximately 60% of income generated by the charities sector comes from the State. In supporting the valuable work done by many of these organisations, we must recognise that they are no alternative to reforming the State.

It is also a fact that charities or charitable organisations such as rotary clubs allow the wealthy to feel better about being wealthy in an unequal society. They allow them to feel good about their benevolent gestures while feeling secure that these acts should be enough to prevent the disadvantaged from challenging the establishment and demanding their rights. While recognising the good work that many of these groups do, we must not forget that it is the role of the State to concentrate its efforts on delivering many of these services for its citizens.

Politicians and others who pride themselves on their support for various charitable organisations should better use their time and position to ensure the elimination of poverty and the delivery of proper services by the State. The public should recognise the irony of any member of Government or Government party patronising charities which exist because the ideologically-driven policies pursued by the Government have brought about an increasingly unequal society. We need a rights-based approach to eliminating the inequalities in society.

I agree very much with the comments of a Catholic theologian carried in today's newspapers regarding those prominent individuals who engage in philanthropy while at the same time avoiding paying their fair share of tax by availing of tax exile status. He is right when he states: "In a fair society, justice comes before charity." Philanthropy is no replacement for the delivery of public and social services by the State nor for the implementation of Government polices to bring about the elimination of poverty.

Another area I feel requires debate is that of tax relief for charitable donations. However, this is a separate matter from the Bill. I will conclude with a heading I saw in a newspaper many years ago which stated: "Damn your charity, we want justice." Internationally, this is the cry of many people. I hope a global effort is made to ensure that charity is no longer required but rather that justice will replace it. I look forward to teasing out the issues involved in the Bill on Committee Stage and I hope the Government will take a practical approach to ensure it improves as legislation. I welcome this process.

See this speech in context