Finian McGrath (Dublin North Central, Independent) | Oireachtas source

I am thankful for the opportunity to speak to this new piece of legislation, the Charities (Amendment) Act 2014. I warmly welcome the legislation and I will strongly support it. The Bill would fully enact all the provisions of the Charities Act 2009, which brought about reform in the law relating to charities in order to ensure greater accountability and protect against abuse of charitable status and fraud. These three words, "accountability", "abuse" and "fraud", have become pertinent in recent weeks, with scandals apparent in the sector.

There has been talk of a regulator and of course we need one for the charities sector. That person should be good, accountable, professional and efficient. That has not been mentioned in this debate as everybody thinks a regulator will solve all the problems. We must have the right person and team of people to oversee this regulation. We have seen disaster in the past in the banking sector because of a lack of regulation, so the issue is very important.

Section 2 of the proposed legislation sets out the advancement of human rights as being included as a charitable purpose via amendment of section 3 of the 2009 Act. Human rights is a key phrase as many people with disabilities, as well as their families, are sick and tired of buckets and charities because they want their rights as citizens. They pay taxes every single day and they want the equality they deserve. They are sick to death of the mentality that still exists in this country, as the fat cats get big salaries of €200,000 to €400,000 as they work with people with disabilities. It is unacceptable. We need equality and justice, and I urge everybody to support this very important piece of legislation.

I am also delighted to see that the principle of equivalence, which lies behind the Good Friday Agreement and directed much legislation in this area, has been seen as very important. We want to build an island with a basis in human rights, equality and respect for all citizens and particularly those with physical and intellectual disability.

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