John Curran (Dublin Mid West, Fianna Fail)

I acknowledge that Deputy Ring highlighted this on a number of occasions, as did many other Deputies. When the Charities Bill was first mooted, every Deputy was aware of issues related to mass cards, the scams that go on and the malpractice. It did not prove easy to effect this change. If it had, we would have accepted amendments earlier.

I am not a legal person, but this Bill, and this section, was drafted with the aid of advice from the Office of the Attorney General. Obviously, I cannot stop a constitutional challenge, but this is not something that a layperson wrote. It came from the highest legal authority in this State. I want to assure Deputies of that.

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