Eamon Ryan (Dublin Bay South, Green Party) | Oireachtas source

I wish the Leas-Cheann Comhairle the best of luck in his new role and hope he spends an entertaining and long time in the Chair.

I commend my colleagues in the Social Democrats on framing and presenting this motion. It is important that we reflect on the regulation of the charity sector. We must try to restore public confidence in a sector that has been badly damaged by revelations of recent years. The central message or argument is that we need enhanced, strengthened and more effective regulation of charities. I recently attended a Law Society event at which the society's new regulator made a simple but important statement. He pointed out in a discussion on regulation that regulation is necessary to catch the corrupt, identify inappropriate tax measures, such as those about which we have heard, and detect cases of embezzlement. It is also needed to prevent, for example, the inappropriate application of medicine. There are, therefore, a range of areas in which regulation is needed to perform a policing function. However, we should also remember that regulation strengthens the better charities because it is a resource that raises standards across the sector. This is not a minor matter given that, according to The Wheel, 12,000 organisations are operating in the charitable sector.

The charity sector in Ireland is highly fractured. We need more regulators and fewer charities. One of the jobs a regulator could do to strengthen the work of good charities is to identify where it would be possible to amalgamate organisations, develop shared services and save money. Given that almost 50% of the funding of the 12,000 organisations in the charity sector comes from statutory grants, it would make sense if the State, which funds the majority of charities' operations, were to invest more in regulation, not only to catch the bad guys but also to help the good guys. That is the central argument I would like to set out in this debate.

The issue of pay arises in the context of regulation. I listened with interest to various comments made by Deputies about pay in the charity sector and I have no doubt there are examples of people in the sector being overpaid. However, we must also recognise that many of those who work in the sector have incredibly complex and difficult jobs. For example, those who run the large development aid charities are trying to save the world, while those working in mental health and disability services must deal with families facing deeply difficult circumstances who need highly skilled and advanced supports. While we must be careful not to overpay people, we must also bear in mind that charities need good staff who must be paid properly. A school principal is paid commensurate with his or her responsibility and this approach must also apply in charities. Good regulation involves recognising that people at the top must be paid a reasonable salary, albeit not an extravagant one. We will not move towards a system in which all staff are paid at the same rate and organisations do not offer incentives to attract good staff.

Similarly, we must recognise that good regulation requires good boards and directors. The motion is well worded in this regard. One of the problems that bedevils the 12,000 charitable organisations is that many of the volunteers on boards are swamped in work and may not take the most professional approach to the running of their organisation. As part of a better regulated sector, it may be necessary to pay directors, which will also mean providing training and holding them to account under much more effective governance structures. While the issue of pay must be central to addressing problems in the sector, it must be part of a properly regulated system.

Last but not least, I will draw on some personal experience to draw attention to what could be a well regulated charitable sector. We need a sector that maintains flexibility. I will refer to my personal experience of how some parts of the charitable sector work to show that the issue is not solely about regulation, payment or receiving some form of statutory grant or recognition. One of my sons is on the autism spectrum. My family has taken an interesting path in accessing services. One of the most significant developments in our experience as a family is our connection with a charity on the north side of Dublin known as Snowflakes autism support. The charity was founded by parents who came together to share their experiences of State resources. The Snowflakes name is a good one because it was chosen on the basis that every child is distinct and different and subject to meltdown. The organisation is run by and centred on parents.

My family had to travel from the south side to the north side of Dublin to access the organisation because there was no equivalent on this side of the river. Soon enough, however, a branch was established on the south side and the organisation now counts approximately 150 parents, all of whom have children on the autism spectrum. We organise an incredible number of activities for our children, taking them to yoga and karate classes, climbing walls and kayaking, as we did yesterday, and playing all sorts of games. We do this ourselves on Facebook and outside the regulated sector. This approach is empowering and works. Parents have learned more from this experience about what the State provides than we have through engagement with official institutions such as the Lucena clinic and the various educational services. The disconnect that exists within the education and health sides of the State sector is significant. It is in the voluntary, unpaid and unrecognised charitable sector that we have met other parents, put together the pieces of the jigsaw and shown where is the best place to secure services. This has been an incredibly useful experience. Snowflakes does not involve any payment and is an organisation where parents do everything themselves. Technologies such as Facebook and Whatsapp allow people to start working together and collaborating.

I mention this experience because we must be careful, in trying to have a better regulated charitable sector, not to crush the ability of people to work in collaboration at grassroots level. Irish people like this approach and are good at learning lessons and adopting it quickly. Just as we adopted the Snowflakes approach from the north side of Dublin and transferred it to the south side, it is now spreading to other areas. This bottom-up community engagement in looking after each other is also part of a regulated charity sector, even if it is, in some ways, unregulated. I wanted to give this personal example because it is important to bear it in mind.

The Green Party very much agrees with the sentiments expressed in the motion. We need more investment in regulation and I trust the Government has heard that message loud and clear. In condemning those who have engaged in sickening activities that have undermined the charitable sector, we also commend the 12,000 organisations that are a force for good in this country.

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