Jerry Buttimer (Cork South Central, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I welcome the opportunity to speak in the debate. It is important that we work collectively to restore the tarnished image of the charitable sector, but in particular we must help to restore the image of those who work for charities, volunteer for charities and the service users who need and require the service provided by many charitable organisations.

As somebody who has raised funds in Cork for the COPE Foundation, Cork Mental Health, the Irish Cancer Society, participated in church gate collections, sold a box of flags in a shopping centre and asked for money, it is critical that we ask the people of this country to continue to support charities. That is the first part of the debate. We must never lose sight of that aim.

It is important that a sense of right and wrong is re-established and that those in the charitable sector in charge of governance must recognise that whether it is public money or it has come from donations there must be transparency, accountability and legitimacy in terms of the money spent, where it goes and in particular that it is spent on the service users and facilities for them.

Let us put the matter in context; there are many charitable organisations providing a service and support to people that the State has not addressed. One could ask where we would be without them. Where would we in Cork be without the COPE Foundation?

The Minister for Justice and Equality, Deputy Shatter, was correct last night on the Rehab group. It is important, as Deputy Jim Daly said that there is an opportunity for the organisation to reply and we play the ball not politics with this issue. There must be compliance in the charities sector with absolute integrity restored in it. I call on those involved to voluntarily come forward and ensure compliance.

I was the Fine Gael Seanad spokesman on the charity sector when the Charities Act was introduced there. There was a strong debate in the Upper House regarding the human rights element in the legislation. I hope we will come back to this issue at a future date. I welcome the Minister’s decision to implement the Charities Act so that we will have a regulator for the sector. However, a regulator alone will not solve this problem.

There must be proper governance and adherence to articles of association. What are auditors signing off on when it comes to these groups’ accounts? No one has yet asked this question in the debate. Annual accounts are signed off on and presented to annual general meetings with no queries from auditors. To have transparency, it is important to restore confidence and trust. However, it must also be ensured that the service-users and their families are given the services they need and deserve. All of us have a duty and responsibility to help restore confidence in the charity sector. The people have always given to charity which must continue. This debate must rise above the partisan level to ensure our charitable sector is viable, honest and just.

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