Dáil debates
Thursday, 14 October 2021
Ceisteanna - Questions - Ceisteanna ar Sonraíodh Uain Dóibh - Priority Questions
Charitable and Voluntary Organisations
10:30 am
Paul Donnelly (Dublin West, Sinn Fein)
Link to this: Individually | In context | Oireachtas source
1. To ask the Minister for Rural and Community Development if a review has been conducted by her Department or the Charities Regulatory Authority on whether the work of the authority and its €4 million annual budget is delivering increased confidence in and within charities. [49932/21]
Paul Donnelly (Dublin West, Sinn Fein)
Link to this: Individually | In context | Oireachtas source
Has a review been conducted by the Department or the Charities Regulator on whether the work of the regulator and its €4 million annual budget is delivering increased confidence in and within charities?
Joe O'Brien (Dublin Fingal, Green Party)
Link to this: Individually | In context | Oireachtas source
I thank the Deputy for the question. The Charities Regulator, under the aegis of my Department, is the State organisation responsible for registering and regulating all of Ireland's charities. It is important to note that the regulator is fully independent in the performance of its statutory functions, including investigations into the activities and conduct of charities.
All registered charities in Ireland, and their trustees, are subject to the provisions of the Charities Act 2009. Concerns about charities may be raised with the regulator and I am assured by the regulator that all such concerns are addressed. The level of trust and confidence in the charity sector is an important indicator of the overall health of the sector. In April, the regulator published its Irish public survey into society's attitudes and engagement with registered charities in Ireland. Overall, the results were encouraging, with 91% of respondents expressing reasonable trust in the sector and 36% rating their level of trust highly.
The programme for Government includes a commitment to update legislative provisions to ensure the Charities Regulator has the necessary powers to increase trust and confidence in the management and administration of charities. This work is at an advanced stage and proposals will be brought to the Government in the near future. The Charities Regulator has a budget of €4.6 million in 2021. As part of its governance oversight of the Charities Regulator, and in line with the code of practice for the governance of State bodies, my Department will be commencing a periodic critical review of the regulator shortly.
Paul Donnelly (Dublin West, Sinn Fein)
Link to this: Individually | In context | Oireachtas source
I am raising this because I got several complaints from registered charities that are having huge problems with bogus charities using their names to collect clothes. Criminals who were doing this were traced to a yard in my area in Blanchardstown. A registered charity sent me the following:
Over the last two years we have been fighting to put a stop to bogus collections being done using our name and logo. We found the yard and clothes were being sold and stored and contacted the gardaí in Blanchardstown. Unfortunately there seems to be no law to put a stop to them.
The criminals had a waste collection permit and the charity could not find out why. Even though the criminals were using a bogus charity and its logo, it seems that neither the Charities Regulator nor the Garda could do anything. Some 466 complaints were made to the Charities Regulator and 177 of those were on the legitimacy of an organisation as a charity. Can we have a look at this issue? It is eroding confidence in charities in the community. When people are giving, they want to know that they are giving to the right people.
Joe O'Brien (Dublin Fingal, Green Party)
Link to this: Individually | In context | Oireachtas source
It is difficult for me to comment on individual cases, particularly because they are under the purview of the Charities Regulator, but I will try to provide some reassurance. With over 11,000 charities on the register, the work of the regulator is vitally important. All registered charities in Ireland and their trustees are subject to the provisions of the 2009 Act, which sets out comprehensive legal obligations surrounding the definition of charities, their operation and their reporting requirements. The regulator has made significant progress in recent years with developments that are helping to restore public confidence in the sector, enhance compliance measures and ensure proportionate regulation. These have included the increased capacity of the regulator to address public concerns, the consolidation of supports available for the implementation of the charities governance code and the publication of safeguarding guidance. In support of the statutory responsibilities of charitable organisations and their trustees, the Charities Regulator introduced the charities governance code in 2018. The regulator has also provided a number of online training sessions during 2020 which are available on its website.
Paul Donnelly (Dublin West, Sinn Fein)
Link to this: Individually | In context | Oireachtas source
The critical issue we are facing is that although the Minister of State says that 91% of people say they have reasonable trust in the Charities Regulator, including 36% who have strong confidence in it, that shows that the regulator still has a long way to go. For people who are working in the charity sector and for the community it is essential that we have a much higher level of trust in the regulator to do the job it is supposed to do. That job is to ensure we have confidence that when we are donating to a charity it is a legal charity. We must have laws in place to ensure that when people are using the name, logo and number of a charity there is some sort of action that can be taken by the regulator to call in the Garda. That is fraud and I cannot understand why the Garda or the regulator cannot act.
Joe O'Brien (Dublin Fingal, Green Party)
Link to this: Individually | In context | Oireachtas source
Again it is difficult for me to comment without knowing the details of the case but I fully back the Deputy's sentiments on the need for people to have trust in charities. The regulator was established in 2014 and it has been growing its capacity ever since. This will be the first year it will have a full staff complement so it is moving in the right direction. That said, we are proposing changes to the law that frames the regulator. The proposed Bill intends to provide clarity in a number of areas, including accounting, audit and reporting requirements; the responsibilities of trustees; the operation of the register of charities; and other provisions, including sharing of information, sanctions, trustee remuneration and disposal of assets. Registered charities which are also companies are not legally required to submit an annual statement of accounts to the regulator but we are putting forward amendments to rectify this situation. That will significantly improve the levels of transparency and trust in charities more broadly.