Jerry Buttimer (Fine Gael)

Lest Senator Ó Murchú get it wrong about this side of the House, we are fundamentally in favour of the principle of the Bill. Sport plays a key role in the community but, under this legislation, we are precluding sport and sporting organisations from seeking charitable status.

I have a question for the Minister of State, the answer to which I half know. I refer to the status of Special Olympics Ireland, which organises the Special Olympics. The organisations that come under that are charitable organisations, such as the Cope Foundation in Cork. Do they have exemptions even though they are not capital projects? I would like the Minister of State to clarify that.

The current legal position is that sporting bodies can apply for charitable status. By virtue of this Bill being passed, they will be precluded. That is a form of discrimination.

Regarding the imposition of the reporting procedure, Bishopstown GAA club held its annual general meeting last Friday night. We have a very good treasurer in Jim Collins, who is very sincere in what he does. We sent our treasurer's report to accountants to be regulated and audited. Sporting clubs would not have a difficulty in being included in this in terms of reporting. There must be regulation of all bodies in respect of handling money. That is a spurious argument although I know where the Minister of State is coming from.

We are talking about the advancement of community. The Minister of State and Senator Hannigan referred to the Federation of Irish Sports. That body appeared before an Oireachtas committee this year. It is a vibrant group with great ideas, representing sporting organisations of different types. I do not know why it would be so exercised about something if its members were not passionate and did not have legitimate concerns. They would not waste time and energy meeting the Minister of State and appearing before the committee if they did not have legitimate concerns. They do, and I do, as a sports person. We are talking about the benefit of community. We are not talking about regulation. We all accept the principle of regulation and we all welcome the Bill, however we are precluding sporting organisations, which is wrong.