Finian McGrath (Dublin North Central, Independent)

I am grateful for the opportunity to contribute to this new legislation, the Charities Bill 2007. I welcome and congratulate the Minister of State, Deputy Pat Carey, on his recent promotion and wish him well in his new job.

I welcome this important Bill as there has been a need for many years to regulate charities. I am one of those who has been pushing this agenda. Before going into the details of the legislation it is important to commend and thank the many worthwhile charities and voluntary groups in this country. They have played and continue to play a leading part in Irish civic life. It is essential that we all put this on the record and thank the voluntary workers in charities on the ground. They are serving their country well and we commend and thank them for their efforts.

However, charities have a duty to be honest and straight with the public. They have to be accountable because in many cases they deal with vast amounts of money and public trust is a huge issue. It is not acceptable to have charities with huge sums of money in their accounts. This is public money collected from citizens of the State and it should be spent on the issues for which it was collected. Politicians regularly get hammered on trust and accountability, and rightly so. However, charities too have to step up to the mark. Is it acceptable that some charities have huge sums of money in their accounts or own huge valuable properties while those they are supposed to help are often left behind? I hear this regularly in my constituency.

I speak as one who has been a voluntary worker for a number of charities over 20 years. I entered politics through the voluntary and community sector. I have seen situations about which I was not happy and it is up to everyone to be straight and honest with the public. That is the reason I welcome the Bill today. I ask some of our so-called rich kids to stop using charities as a cover-up to present a positive image to some of their activities. It is time for the likes of Bono and Denis O'Brien to stay in Ireland and do their work here, pay their taxes like everyone else and stop using charities to bolster their egos. If they are serious about making a contribution to Irish society, they should pay their taxes like everyone else and support our charities. Let us look at Chuck Feeney who wants no reward and donates hundreds of millions to the poorest of the poor as well as giving major donations to education institutions here. People like Chuck Feeney should be honoured by this country for his role in giving to Ireland and in the peace process.

Let us have a proper honours system also for our own people. It might reduce the sad scenes of Irish citizens accepting knighthoods or MBEs from the British. Let us grow up and have our own awards and honours systems. Chuck Feeney should be first on that list. I am always saddened when Irish citizens accept honours from monarchists. All democrats should back the call for a proper honours system for people who do great things for our people, the poor, the disadvantaged and our country. The political parties should stop bickering, work together on this matter and support the introduction of a new honours system.

I thank all Deputies and members of the public who donated money and sent text messages to me when I was involved in the charity, "You're a Star", three years ago. We helped to raise more than €80,000 which went directly to a project for children with disability. I thank and commend all my cross-party colleagues in the House who regularly donate money to worthwhile charities and causes. The public who are often cynical about politicians should be aware of this reality. Many Members make substantial donations regularly to charities. I thank and commend my colleagues for their work on this issue.

The purpose of the Bill is to enact a reform of the law relating to charities to ensure greater accountability and to protect against abuse of charitable status and fraud. It will also enhance public trust and confidence in charities and increase transparency in the sector. The key aspects of the Bill will provide for a definition of charitable purpose for the first time in primary legislation, establish a new regulatory authority to secure compliance by charities with their legal obligations and encourage better administration of charities, establish a register of charities in which all charities operating in the State must register, provide for annual activity reports by charities to the new authority and update the law relating to fundraising, particularly in relation to collections by way of direct debits and similar non-cash methods. These key aspects of the legislation are positive and progressive developments.

In regard to charities, the centre for non-profit management at Trinity College estimates that the voluntary sector generates an annual income of about €2.5 billion, with about €500 million of that coming from fundraising. According to figures from Trinity College, approximately 60% of the income generated by charities comes from the State. There are about 700 people directly employed as fundraisers. Trust is a key issue with the public and the taxpayers. There are many cases where rip-off merchants are involved and all this will be dealt with in the legislation. That the not-for-profit sector accounted for 8% of Ireland's GDP would not be known to many people. While big brand charities such as Oxfam, UNICEF, Goal and Concern are often most recognised by the public, many of the charities operating in Ireland are very small. According to the research conducted by Trinity College, half of all responding organisations had an income of €40,000 or less in 2003. The college's research showed that less than 10% of organisations earned an average income of €738,205 or more in 2003, while a further 10% earned an income of €1,300 or less. It is clear there are huge as well as smaller charities. Incidentally the smaller charities make a massive contribution also.

Legislation will ensure clarity on accounts. For the numerous charities in Ireland, the new Charities Bill will change the way they operate when it is passed into law. One of the key changes will be the establishment of a charity regulatory authority, a regulatory body for charitable organisations.

All new charities will now be required to apply to this body to be registered as a charitable organisation. Existing charities will be given six months to register, which I welcome. The registration process will require the charity to supply three years of accounts, the charity's constitution and details of how it intends to raise funds.

Section 3 defines ''charitable purposes'' for the first time in primary legislation. A purpose is regarded as charitable if its aim is the prevention or relief of poverty or economic hardship; the advancement of education; the advancement of religion; or any other purpose that is of benefit to the community.

"Purpose that is of benefit to the community'' includes the advancement of community welfare, including the relief of those in need by reason of youth, age, ill-health or disability. It is very important that we support the organisations that campaign for people with disabilities. It also includes the advancement of community development, including rural or urban regeneration and the promotion of civic responsibility or voluntary work in the community. I commend all those involved in the voluntary sector and I send my best wishes to our team at the Special Olympics in China, who have done magnificent work in this area. We should all support them.

It also includes the promotion of health, including the prevention or relief of sickness, disease or human suffering and the advancement of conflict resolution or reconciliation. I raised the issue of conflict resolution during my talks with the Taoiseach on my programme for government in my so-called deal. I commend the Minister for Foreign Affairs, Deputy Dermot Ahern, on the €25 million allocated to the fund to assist with resolving conflicts throughout the world. Again Ireland is showing itself as a leading light in the area of conflict resolution. This is also mentioned in the legislation.

"Purpose that is of benefit to the community'' also includes the protection of the natural environment; the prevention or relief of suffering of animals; the advancement of the arts, culture, heritage or sciences; and the integration of those who are disadvantaged, and the promotion of their full participation in society. We have many voluntary groups in Dublin North-Central in Marino, Coolock, Artane, Beaumont, Clontarf, Raheny and Donnycarney that are doing excellent work. They are a small band of people in their own community who do magnificent work. I take this opportunity to thank those involved in voluntary groups including residents and sports groups who give of their time regularly. We all know how valuable time is. We all know there is a problem now with the idea of active citizenship and we need to give consideration to this area because of the great contribution of those people. I commend the people in Dublin North-Central on the excellent work they do in the voluntary and community sector.

It is important to focus on and prioritise the disadvantaged in our society, who will always be a priority for voluntary and community groups whether they are the sick, elderly, disabled or disadvantaged. It is up to the State sector to complement the voluntary groups. There are many examples in my constituency where a considerable amount of money is going into disadvantaged areas. Many Deputies want to know what is in the deal with the Government. These are all issues in the deal with the Government. I want to ensure that Deputy Terence Flanagan knows that so that he can spread the word particularly in Raheny. It is very important that we support the disadvantaged in our society.

I welcome this progressive and sensible legislation that gives priority to charities. It will also ensure that the public has trust that there will be honesty and accountability in dealing with charities.

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