Catherine Murphy (Kildare North, Independent) | Oireachtas source

All of us have been absolutely disgusted by some of the matters revealed in the past number of weeks. It is one thing to be disgusted and debate it in the Chamber but it is something else to act. We must deal with the issue as a matter of the most extreme urgency. It is not a case of just doing anything as the approach in this piece of legislation must be followed by the Government. There is a lead in this Bill relating to human rights advancement with regard to what defines charitable organisations. That is an extremely important point, and it has not been fully appreciated that human rights organisations focused on that area alone will not be able to avail of existing legislation. The problem should be addressed.

Deputy Finian McGrath is correct in that there is an over-reliance on charity. When donations drop by half we can see just how vulnerable are the services provided through that sector. We must get to a point where there is an absolute minimum level of service that people cannot fall below. I would also like to see included areas that could be seen prior to Christmas on an RTE "Prime Time" programme, and these are another side of the fund-raising arm of charitable organisations. Specifically, it related to religious organisations which claimed to be able to treat people suffering from addiction. The RTE investigation unit uncovered examples of vulnerable people being asked to work 18 hours a day in fund-raising by some very questionable organisations, and such issues must be brought under the remit of the law.

We can see how fragmented are some of our services and sometimes it strikes me that the country is stuck together with sellotape. Many of our organisations reflect that but we must get beyond our current position in order to start building decent institutions.

See this speech in context