Joe O'Brien (Dublin Fingal, Green Party) | Oireachtas source

I thank all the Deputies who contributed to the debate. I appreciate the broad support for the Bill. I will use my time to address some of the issues raised.

Reference was made to crowd funding platforms, including GoFundMe. Crowd funding tends to occur where a person or group seeks donations for an individual or a specific cause, such as seeking funds to pay for treatment for someone who is ill. In most instances, the requisite public benefit element of the charity test would not be met in such cases and they would not be required to apply to register as a charity. The Charities Regulator has no role in regard to fundraising by persons or groups that are not charities other than to ensure such persons or groups do not hold themselves out as charities in contravention of the Act. Where it comes to the attention of the regulator that a person or group is fundraising in contravention of the Act, by referring to themselves or holding themselves out as a charity, the regulator will endeavour to make contact with the person or group concerned, along with the fundraising platform, to address the matter. In short, a lot of the GoFundMe pages referenced are private operations that do no classify as charities and, therefore, are outside the scope of this legislation. It is a question of buyer beware, for want of a better phrase, for people who are thinking of donating to a page like that. They need to check whether the fundraiser is a charity and, if it is not, they are taking a big risk.

Questions were raised in respect of significant events.

On consideration of observations made during pre-legislative scrutiny and in line with other common law jurisdictions, the statutory requirement to report significant events has been removed. That is important to say. There is not now a statutory requirement to report what we described as "significant events". As also recommended in the pre-legislative scrutiny report, a definition of "significant event" has now been included in the statute as well. It relates to three general descriptions: substantial damage to property, substantial reduction or loss in assets, or an event or situation that places the charitable organisation or its reputation at significant risk. In time, the regulator will be able to give more detailed guidance on what that is about which will put people's minds at ease. The key message here is that it is not a statutory requirement to report. There will be guidance developed in time to assist people in that regard.

On the political advocacy point, the legislation is very clear and I have gone through this myself a number of times. Under the provisions of the Charities Act 2009, a registered charity can already conduct political advocacy as part of its work once it meets all the following three requirements: it relates directly to the advancement of its charitable purpose, it does not promote a political party or candidate, and it is not contrary to the charity's governing document. Obviously, the regulator provides the guidance, but it is available to the Minister to provide directions to the regulator where necessary in that regard. To me, the legislation is quite clear in this regard but I am happy to engage with the ICCL on other aspects of that.

Unfortunately, Deputy Collins has left because he raised some very good points. It is a shame he is not here now for me to reassure him that this Bill will actually help those groups he was talking about quite a lot because it will raise the threshold. It will also lower the administrative burden for many of those smaller groups. It is also worth saying that a lot of those small groups he described would not meet the charity test. They would not be required to register as charities because of the nature of their operations. There are gradations. The Deputy mentioned one size fits all. This is quite the opposite. We have gradations of requirements for different levels of people.

Deputy Collins also made the point that certain money is collected from the public, and if it is State money, there should be higher thresholds. The very point of the regulator is that it is protecting money that people have donated. That is still money that is of the public, at least, and it is the regulator's job to protect that money.

The Deputy referenced an organisation that was engaged with HSE. It is important to flag that this organisation is not a registered charity so it does not come under the scope of this legislation. I would hope that, overall, the changes will encourage people to get involved in charities.

I acknowledge the observations of all the stakeholders, including the joint committee, which conducted pre-legislative scrutiny on the general scheme. Reflecting on the pre-legislative scrutiny report, I have carefully considered the recommendations contained in the report and I have taken into account, where relevant, those areas that require greater clarification and further consideration.

As I set out in my opening address, the approach taken in this Bill reflects the scale and complexity of the organisations that make up the charity sector in Ireland. The measures proposed will introduce greater transparency to the way in which charities report, enhancing public confidence in the sector. This Bill is a key step that needs to be implemented to allow for the appropriate regulation, particularly financial regulation, of the sector. I assure Members that the issue of proportionality has been reviewed at length in the preparation of the Bill and will continue to be as it progresses through the Houses. This is evidenced through the proposed amendments that will provide for an increase in the financial thresholds that currently apply and to ensure more appropriate reporting requirements that are reflective of a charity's size.

The introduction of accounting regulations and charity statement of recommended practice, SORP, as provided for in this Bill, will provide assistance to charities, donors and the regulator by standardising the layout of financial statements for all charities and clarifying what information the financial statement should contain. This will allow charities to be regulated in a more consistent and transparent manner.

These are all actions which will ultimately further enhance public trust and confidence in the sector. There is an identified need for proportionate regulation and governance requirements for charities. It is important we strike the right balance between necessary regulation and proportionate governance.

I must reiterate the Charities Regulator's approach to compliance is very much one of early and ongoing engagement with charities when issues arise and working with them to bring them into compliance. The Bill will not change this adopted approach. On the contrary, it seeks to further develop proportionality within the process. By way of example, as previously described, the Bill seeks to extend the circumstances in which an intermediate sanction can be used to avoid prosecution and bring the charity into compliance as this is a more proportionate response in most cases

A number of the amendments proposed will also ensure incorporated charities will now be subject to the same regulatory requirements and rules as other registered charities, especially in respect of financial reporting and audit requirements. This legislation will ensure a balanced approach continues, with a commitment to fair procedures and adherence to the rules of natural justice. To reaffirm, the core objective of this legislation is to provide an updated legal framework that reflects the reality of operations on the ground, which will ensure our charities continue to thrive.

I once again extend my appreciation to the joint committee. I acknowledge the engagement of the Charities Regulator, which worked closely with my Department in preparing this important legislation. I also record the significant work of the Office of Parliamentary Counsel, which assisted my officials in the drafting of this Bill. In particular, I acknowledge the contributions to the process to date of the community and voluntary sector. This includes The Wheel, Charities Institute Ireland and the Irish Council for Civil Liberties. I look forward to further proactive and detailed engagement with Members of the House on Committee Stage on the provisions contained in the Bill.

See this speech in context