John Curran (Dublin Mid West, Fianna Fail)

I consider it key to this legislation that organisations which are not charitable in nature should be prevented from presenting themselves to the public as charitable. I want to be sure that donors to charity can be confident that the money they intend to go for the benefit of good causes is not diverted into commercial businesses or worse. In this context, I am aware of the concern expressed by Members about the sale in shops of pre-signed mass cards which are not obtained directly from or with the consent of the Catholic church. There is no doubt that pre-signed mass cards are widely sold in shops and this practice has given rise to concerns that mass cards are sold on a for-profit basis, with only a small proportion of the purchase price used for the benefit of the church, and that no mass is ever offered in respect of the intentions specified on the cards.

Senators will be glad to know that I have taken on board the concerns expressed to me on this issue and, following consultations with the Office of the Attorney General, I have proposed an amendment to the effect that anyone who sells mass cards will have to able to show that he or she has entered into an agreement with the Catholic church to do so. I hope this will set people's minds at rest in regard to the validity and authenticity of such cards. This measure, combined with the authority's power to provide information to the public through public information campaigns or guidelines and the provisions in the Bill that prevent non-charities from portraying themselves as charities, will help people to discern genuine charities from organisations which are not charitable in nature.

The Catholic church will play an important role in ensuring the success of this approach. I understand it is committed to playing its part.