Results 981-1,000 of 6,728 for speaker:John Curran

Seanad: Charities Bill 2007: Committee Stage (4 Dec 2008)

John Curran: Pre-signed mass cards have been an issue for some time. We are in consultation with the Attorney General and I hope I can bring forward an amendment in that regard on Report Stage. There is an Opposition amendment on the same issue down for debate today. Following the Second Stage contributions regarding public representatives being precluded from membership of the new authority, I expect...

Seanad: Charities Bill 2007: Committee Stage (4 Dec 2008)

John Curran: The issues to which I specifically referred are not dealt with by way of amendment today. I was signalling my intention that they would be presented later. I am conscious there are issues and amendments related to human rights and it is my intention to deal with those at that stage. I was signalling some of the issues raised, for which we do not have amendments today, to indicate to people...

Seanad: Charities Bill 2007: Committee Stage (4 Dec 2008)

John Curran: No, because the amendments on Report Stage to which I referred have already been clearly identified. There is nothing in them which we have not already dealt with, for example, the mass card issue. The amendments do not contain anything of a substantial nature that has not already been addressed. They have been scrutinised by legal advisers in the Attorney General's office and I am...

Seanad: Charities Bill 2007: Committee Stage (4 Dec 2008)

John Curran: While it is unlikely that there are many, if any, single trustee charities, on the basis of legal advice, amendment No. 2 amends the definition of "body" to cater for such a scenario. Amendment No. 12 is purely technical. The text to be removed is not considered necessary, based on legal advice. Amendments Nos. 22, 23 and 34 are very similar and propose the use of the word "enactment"...

Seanad: Charities Bill 2007: Committee Stage (4 Dec 2008)

John Curran: Amendments Nos. 4 and 42 have emerged from interdepartmental consultation relating to how a charity might act on dissolution. A fundamental principle of the Bill as currently drafted is that a charity should apply all its property for the stated charitable purpose, even when the charity is dissolved. In the course of the consultation, the possibility emerged that some charities might not be...

Seanad: Charities Bill 2007: Committee Stage (4 Dec 2008)

John Curran: Prior to the publication of the Bill there was an extensive consultation period. The question of sporting bodies attracting charitable status did not emerge at that stage as a matter of any concern. The issue of sporting bodies being eligible for charitable status only emerged in recent weeks and this is surprising in some respects. I have a great appreciation of and involvement in sport....

Seanad: Charities Bill 2007: Committee Stage (4 Dec 2008)

John Curran: I refer to amendment No. 41. It is not that, as a member of a sports club, I would be unsympathetic to having a more favourable tax regime but this is not the way of doing it. It is a tax law that must be addressed. The Charities Bill makes the distinction between the two separate functions of Revenue and the charity regulator. In this amendment we do not have that. Senator Hannigan...

Seanad: Charities Bill 2007: Committee Stage (4 Dec 2008)

John Curran: The legislation is such that activities that are advanced as charitable purposes would have additional reporting responsibilities that do not apply at the moment. Charities have been unregulated in the broad sense for a long time. We are trying to preserve the status quo and to recognise the situation as it is, knowing that it is evolving. That is the reason for the mandatory review within...

Seanad: Charities Bill 2007: Committee Stage (4 Dec 2008)

John Curran: As I said, if that was removed there would be an obligation on every sporting body to register and be subject to all the regulatory control that goes with that. In reply to Senator Buttimer on the Special Olympics, any organisation that has a charitable status would retain that. Many sporting clubs that might have charitable status, for whatever reason, can also have it for the activities...

Seanad: Charities Bill 2007: Committee Stage (4 Dec 2008)

John Curran: That is the point. I have spoken to many of the groups and they genuinely believe there would be a change in their tax status and that revenues would accrue to them that they would not otherwise get. That is not the case. As I emphasised at the beginning, we are trying to maintain the status quo. I have a great sympathy and passion for sport, but the Bill reflects the status quo. I am...

Seanad: Charities Bill 2007: Committee Stage (4 Dec 2008)

John Curran: I do not know either.

Seanad: Charities Bill 2007: Committee Stage (4 Dec 2008)

John Curran: Unfortunately, we are maintaining the status quo. In an effort to be helpful, I highlighted that provision is made in the legislation for a mandatory review within five years.

Seanad: Charities Bill 2007: Committee Stage (4 Dec 2008)

John Curran: There is a misapprehension that by automatically being included as a charity, one's tax situation will change. It will not. There is a clear distinction in the legislation. Anyone who currently enjoys tax status with Revenue automatically transfers but the majority of sports clubs do not. Those which may do, and which would have a status with Revenue, would have it for a specific...

Seanad: Charities Bill 2007: Committee Stage (4 Dec 2008)

John Curran: On Second Stage and in today's contributions, much has been read into the fact that human rights and social justice have not been included specifically as charitable purposes in the Bill. I want to allay the concerns that the Bill is seeking to diminish human rights organisations operating in the State. The charitable purposes, as set out in section 3, reflect those that have emerged in...

Seanad: Charities Bill 2007: Committee Stage (4 Dec 2008)

John Curran: In case anything new has emerged and in case there is anything further to the latest legal advice I have, I said I would refer amendment No. 7 to the Attorney General again. The advice I have is that the amendment is not necessary, but to be specific about it, I will check it. In section 3, the term "charitable purposes" mirrors the changes that have developed over many years and is used by...

Seanad: Charities Bill 2007: Committee Stage (4 Dec 2008)

John Curran: We are coming at this from slightly different points. Senator White said we are here with a clean sheet of paper and we can go anywhere we want, but the premise behind the legislation was to reflect what is happening currently, and primarily in that regard the Revenue Commissioners were the key people. Most of the discussion on what were deemed to be charitable purposes occurred around what...

Seanad: Charities Bill 2007: Committee Stage (4 Dec 2008)

John Curran: To answer that specific question, my advice on the charitable purposes did not come from the Attorney General.

Seanad: Charities Bill 2007: Committee Stage (4 Dec 2008)

John Curran: Without going into the specific point, all aspects of the Bill have been with the Attorney General. It is not as though he is not aware of this, but to go back to the designation of charitable purposes, it came about because the purpose of the Bill was to try to put a structure to what was happening with a view to maintaining the status quo and reviewing within a mandatory period.

Seanad: Charities Bill 2007: Committee Stage (4 Dec 2008)

John Curran: It was a policy decision that the legislation would reflect what was happening and try to regulate it. As the Revenue Commissioners were the only body dealing with the registration of charities, they were consulted regarding the charitable purposes and that is reflected in the Bill. A policy decision was made that the legislation would reflect and maintain the status quo. Knowing it was a...

Seanad: Charities Bill 2007: Committee Stage (4 Dec 2008)

John Curran: I have outlined that it was a policy decision to reflect the practices. Revenue was consulted as to what the practices were. It is a policy decision to introduce this legislation to regulate charities. I know it is not what people want and they are looking to go somewhere else. That was not the policy decision. The decision was that we would reflect on what was happening.