John Curran (Dublin Mid West, Fianna Fail)

During the passage of the Bill through both Houses I noticed there is great appreciation of the vital role that trustees play in the operation of charities. I am also aware of the need to protect the interests of trustees of charities. I wish to ensure that they are not made unfairly liable for commitments they enter into in good faith on behalf of charities. I also wish to ensure that those engaged in charity work can undertake the role of trustee without being worried that this role might have negative financial implications for them.

I have already amended the Bill to enable charities to use charitable funds to indemnify trustees against personal losses arising where there they have acted in good faith. In the Seanad, the Opposition Senators welcomed the insurance provision. However, it was considered that there might be a high cost involved in taking out such a policy, particularly where potential liabilities might be considerable. Accordingly, Senators submitted amendments relating to trustee liability. I agreed to reflect on the matter and did so in consultation with the office of the Attorney General. My advice was that a trustee could only be personally liable where there is a breach of the fiduciary relationship by the trustee with the consent of the trustees. Where a trustee acts in good faith in carrying out its business with a body such as a statutory body, there is really no way the trustee would be personally liable.

Nonetheless, to remove doubt, I decided to table an amendment to deal with the issue raised by allowing the court to grant relief to charity trustees from personal liability for a breach of trust, where the trustees acted honestly and reasonably in good faith. I am confident this will offer reassurance to those who act as trustees to charities or who are contemplating such a role.

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