Michael Ring (Mayo, Fine Gael)

I welcome the Bill in principle. The Minister of State accepted some of our amendments and introduced the necessary legislation in the Seanad, and I welcome that. I am disappointed that he has not dealt with one area in the Bill, however, in relation to human rights as a charitable purpose. I have received much representation in this regard, as has my colleague, Deputy Wall, and other Members of the House. We are concerned that these charities will be disadvantaged vis-À-vis the UK and Europe. I am disappointed that the Minister of State did not introduce the necessary amendment to deal with this in the Seanad. There is concern among charities about this as evidenced by the representations I have received. I asking the Minister of State whether something could be done, even at this late stage, to try to reassure these charities and table the necessary amendments to deal with the problem they have.

Regarding amendment No. 1 and the other amendments in relation to smaller charities, I welcome the proposal because I believe many such charities would have had to present audited accounts at the end of the year. The Minister of State seems to be saying that if a charity is getting up to €10,000, it will be recognised as a charity and will not have to present audited accounts. For charities with incomes above €10,000, the regulator can exercise discretion in relation to the amount of paperwork they have to produce. I welcome that and believe it is in the spirit of the Bill. The one item we all sought in this Bill was that there should not be too much bureaucracy and paperwork for charities. They collect money that the State will not provide and we do not want charities spending more time than they should producing paperwork for the regulator. I accept the amendment as a good proposal and Fine Gael will not oppose it.

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