Results 1,021-1,040 of 6,728 for speaker:John Curran

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

John Curran: I do not disagree with Senator O'Toole and I have an open mind on the operational procedures that would effect the appointment. Nothing is set in stone in that regard. Question put and agreed to. NEW SECTION. Government amendment No. 39: In page 59, before section 76, to insert the following new section: "76.—(1) The Minister shall, with the consent of the Minister for Finance provide the...

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

John Curran: I could be smart and say that it will be Clondalkin, but it is not known.

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

John Curran: Let us get through the legislation before the operation. I do not know.

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

John Curran: I have given serious thought to this issue. One of the key principles of the Bill is to improve transparency for the benefit of the public regarding the operation of charities. Accordingly, section 77 requires the charity appeal tribunal to hold its hearings in public. I have given this much consideration. In particular circumstances where privacy is considered to be an issue, the Bill...

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

John Curran: I do not at all disagree with what Senator O'Toole said, but the point, in trying to bring the legislation forward, is to strike the appropriate balance. We are trying to maintain transparency and confidence in the sector and, at the same time, we have made specific provisions that the identities do not have to be revealed and, more importantly, on the associated issue of the auditor being...

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

John Curran: I certainly will comment. I do not disagree with what the Senator is trying to do, and that is the reason we have the review, but I am not sure if the type of information the Senator wants would enable the charities to continue in their current format. The charities will make annual financial returns that will give an indication of the level of funding going to the charitable cause versus...

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

John Curran: I would prefer if 100% of the collection went to the charity but that is not the reality. On the returns that will be submitted, we will capture the particulars of all professional fund-raising agents, consultants engaged etc. The Senator made the point about 50% of the money not going to the charity. We probably do not have sufficient information available to determine that. That is an...

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

John Curran: We dealt earlier with the point that arose concerning Respond. We amended it on the recommendation of the Law Reform Commission. I would make the point that we cannot have trustees and directors who are involved in charities being treated somewhat differently from the way the law already treats them. There is a substantial amount of other law that deals with the roles and responsibilities,...

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

John Curran: I will deal with the latter issue in the next group of amendments concerning sealed boxes, which also includes amendment No. 51 in the name of Senator Buttimer. Amendments Nos. 43 and 44 aim to allow the Chief Superintendent to refuse a permit, including in circumstances where he is of the view the collection is likely to be undertaken in an inappropriate manner. Members of the public have...

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

John Curran: Non-cash collections typically are conducted door or door or on the street and involve people signing up to a direct debit or standing order. Money is not put in a box and it is a long-term donation.

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

John Curran: No.

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

John Curran: The regulation applies to charities and not every organisation that fund-raises will be a charity. That distinction needs to be made. Organisations and bodies that are not charities——

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

John Curran: The Senator needs to read the amendment. Political parties are not charities but they engage in fund-raising. They are subject to the various regulations and they need permits and so on to collect. However, they are not covered by the charities regulations. In other words, a local GAA club is not precluded from holding a fund-raising event.

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

John Curran: The Bill is designed to enhance the security of both cash and non-cash collections and ,thus, bolster public confidence. To this end, it currently provides that cash collectors must use a sealed box. This was intended to address the open bucket method, which can give rise to concerns over the security of the collection. However, this raised concerns within the charity sector, which were...

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

John Curran: I thank the Members. I was only made aware fairly late in the day that this was an issue. I am no different from anybody else. I walk down Grafton Street and elsewhere and see the boxes for the daffodils and so on. I could easily and instantly recognise the issue. The problem was to try to address it in a way that still protected what we had in the sealed box. The whole idea of...

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

John Curran: The Bill currently provides that charities must have the name and registered number of the charity on the collection box for cash collections, and on the garment worn by a non-cash collector. In addition, charities are required to display the charitable purpose in the same way. The sector has made some representations to the effect that were the charitable purpose to change, for example,...

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

John Curran: We should not take this out of context. The part concerning making banking information available applies where the contributions are to be made in a non-cash manner. For example, if one is paying a direct debit, obviously one knows the details of one's own bank account but not the details of the other bank. Without trying to make it too complex, it is in that context.

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

John Curran: I gave an indication at the outset of the debate of some of the amendments I intend to bring forward on Report Stage. I did so to be helpful and to prevent delays to the proceedings, which proved to be quite protracted in any event. Members expressed concerns about the provision whereby councillors would automatically be precluded from membership of the authority. In this regard, I was...

Seanad: Water Supply Contamination (4 Dec 2008)

John Curran: I am replying on behalf of the Minister for the Environment, Heritage and Local Government who regrets that he cannot be present. I thank the Senator for raising the issue. Each local authority is responsible for the quality of the drinking water it supplies to the public and is legally required to ensure that any failure to meet quality standards is investigated immediately to determine the...

Seanad: Water Supply Contamination (4 Dec 2008)

John Curran: The Minister has clearly indicated in the first instance——