John Curran (Dublin Mid West, Fianna Fail)

I move amendment No. 79:

In page 41, to delete lines 39 to 43 and substitute the following:

"53.—(1) Where, in the course of, and by virtue of the carrying out of, his or her duties in relation to a charitable organisation, information comes into the possession of a relevant person that causes him or her to form the opinion that there are reasonable grounds for believing that an offence under the Act of 2001 has been or is being committed, the relevant person shall, as soon as may be, notify the Authority in writing of that opinion and provide the Authority with a report in writing of the particulars of the grounds upon which the opinion was formed.".

The original wording of this subsection required a relevant person, including an auditor or trustee, to report offences or suspected offences to the authority irrespective of how or in what context such a person had reasonable cause to believe that an offence was being committed. I consider that the original provision placed an unreasonable burden on individuals. Even where a person formed such a view based on something overheard in a non-work context, such as a social gathering, he or she would be guilty of an offence if it is not reported to the authority. The obligation to report provision will now only apply to a scenario in which the relevant person receives information as a direct consequence of carrying out his or her duties and which leads to the formation of a view that an offence is being committed.

See this speech in context