Mary Mitchell O'Connor (Dún Laoghaire, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

Mother Teresa said:

Love is not patronising and charity isn't about pity, it is about love. Charity and love are the same - with charity you give love, so don't just give money but reach out your hand instead.

Irish people have an admirable and unwavering reputation for generosity that puts us ahead of many of our international counterparts. We do not just give money, we also regularly reach out our hand to help and volunteer. I am involved in a number of charities. I help to fund-raise, organise events, volunteer and contribute to charities, as do many other Oireachtas Members and thousands throughout the country. There are hundreds of excellent charities operating in the country. Given the recent CRC revelations, it is timely that we discuss the importance and urgency of implementation of the Charities Act. The wrongdoing of what I hope will only be a small number of people has rocked the foundations of a worthy sector that is reliant on the public's goodwill and generosity. There is something rotten in the state of charity funding if money raised by charitable organisations does not go to the people the public envisaged it was helping. Irish charities are now reporting that donations are down by 10% since the revelations. Implementation of the Act is necessary to help to remove the doubts that have crept into the minds of people who generously donate to charities. We must ensure we have in place a properly regulated charity sector once and for all. I welcome the Minister's announcement that the board of the regulatory authority will be appointed by Easter. The new authority must lead by example and be transparent. It will require a robust board that is not dominated by the cronyism and golden handshakes that we have seen in the past. It will I hope help to avert any future crisis in public confidence through its transparency, leadership, accountability, best practice and corporate governance. I look forward to the full roll-out of the Act this year.

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