Éamon Ó Cuív (Galway West, Fianna Fail)

I agree with the Deputy. We urgently need this Bill because there is always a risk of destroying the confidence people have in giving to charities by exposing a major wrongdoing. Thankfully, we have a good record of acting with probity, as do the charities. The risk is there and that is what the Charities Bill 2007 is all about. This Bill had been lying around for years and when I came into the Department in 2002 I was determined that it would be published before the election in 2007. We would like to see it enacted before the summer, but it is better to give time to the Bill to get it right. We will deal with it as fast as we can, but we want to get it right.

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