John Curran (Dublin Mid West, Fianna Fail)

This issue has received a lot of debate and discussion and for that reason it would not be fair to say we will re-examine the matter. It is worth bearing in mind that this is new legislation and it will be reviewed in five years time. It is important to remember that the charities legislation is intended to regulate existing charities. The provision we have already passed allows any organisation that has current charitable status to retain it. A key point is that there is no risk to existing charities. It was not the intention to narrow the range of charitable purposes but neither are we seeking to expand them. As a consequence of the "deemed" amendment, existing charities will retain their charitable status. In that regard I regret the amendments cannot be accepted.

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