John O'Mahony (Mayo, Fine Gael)

Like others, I welcome this overdue Bill. The relevant legislation has not been updated in 40 years. Most Deputies have been involved in collecting for, paying to or administering charitable organisations. It is vital that the proper structures and regulations be put in place if the public is to know that their money is being put to the good use for which it was intended and if there is to be transparency and accountability.

The generosity of the Irish people knows no bounds. They have given a higher percentage of their incomes to charitable organisations than most other countries, but we would not need as many charitable organisations as we have were the Government to resource and fund the sectors for which the charities collect. The Bright Eyes charity in County Mayo has collected in excess of €1 million for necessary cancer service equipment at Mayo General Hospital, where people marched last Sunday in revolt at losing cancer services.

The Bill is important to charities that run a good show because it should eradicate the charities that do not reach the required standard of regulation. However, it is vital that support structures be put in place for those organisations. The people who volunteer their time and expertise should not be frightened off by the amount of red tape and regulations. We must take into account that modern society needs to encourage volunteerism.

I agree with the suggestion that the regulator should be fully Exchequer funded, as charities should not pay fees. Section 37 requires the authority to establish and maintain a register and each organisation to pay a fee. Smaller charities will find it difficult to fund those costs.

Will the Bill eradicate scams such as door-to-door second-hand clothes collections in the name of charities or the buying of mass cards that bear the printed signatures of priests in developing countries but have nothing to do with the charity, religious orders or missions? These scams are multimillion euro businesses and operate in every county. They have evaded current fraud and deception legislation, but it is obvious they will be able to avoid the proposed legislation because they will not describe themselves as charities. It will be a simple escape clause and the regulator will be unable to touch them. They give the public the distinct impression they are charities. For example, some give donations to charities based in developing countries to give their commercial activities credibility. They set out to deceive innocent citizens who do not have the time to examine the organisations' activities. Often, traders and clothes collectors operate using unmarked vehicles and mobile telephones.

In a time when many voluntary organisations find it difficult to get volunteers, we need sufficient regulation to reassure the public but not so much that we frighten off volunteers in modern society.

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