Seán Kyne (Galway West, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

7 o’clock

I thank the Deputy for his comments. Clearly, issues regarding public confidence have arisen in some charities in recent times, as the Deputy rightly stated, but charities do a lot of very important work on behalf of this country. It is only right and proper to ensure they are all acting above board in performing their duties. This is why the legislation was introduced.

The Charities Regulator is independent in the execution of its duties. It would be irresponsible for me to comment on any particular group under investigation or on findings that may arise in that it could prejudice the investigation. Personally, I have not heard of any issues regarding Pobal. If the Deputy has information he would like to share, we would be happy to examine it within the Department.

Before Christmas, I met the Charities Regulator, including the chairman of the board and the three new members appointed to the board. Clearly, they have a roadmap for what they want to do. There has been an increase in the number of groups registered as charities, indicating an increase in compliance. As I stated, 9,061 were registered at the end of 2017. A number of others were registered automatically because they had a valid charitable tax exemption from the Revenue Commissioners. In addition to those, a number of others were registered for the first time, including a number of schools.

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