Jerry Buttimer (Fine Gael)

Cuirim fáilte roimh an Aire Stáit. I hope this debate will not be as long as the last debate on this Bill. I welcome the conclusion of the deliberation on this Bill and the regulation of charities for the first time. That is important. The Bill, and the amendment on which there is cross-party support, has been broadly welcomed by the charities sector and by all parties in this House and the other House. It has been a long time in gestation and in delivery and I hope we are at the end of the line.

I would have liked the Minister of State to have had the regulation of the charities sector dealt with by the Department. However, I am glad that the Bill provides for a properly resourced staff, a regulatory authority that will include councillors and, at this difficult economic time, an efficient use of funding in this sector that is in great need of overhaul.

Although I hate using the word "transparency" because it is a degraded word, there is a need for transparency in how charities operate, especially their collections. We have had great discussions with the Irish Cancer Society and other organisations which have used the open box cash collection point. The important point is that through this amendment and through the Bill in general we will indemnify and allow the many genuine and hard-working volunteers who have given so freely of their time to charities throughout Ireland a sense of security and safety which is badly needed. I hope it will eliminate bogus collections and misleading organisations who parade themselves as collecting for charities which do not in fact exist. That said, I still have concerns regarding some aspects of the Bill.

I pay tribute to my colleague in the other House, Deputy Ring, on his work, specifically regarding the mass cards, the collection of clothing, etc. There is need for a stringent approach to bogus charitable collectors. I do not say that as a scrooge or as a person who is against people collecting because I myself do it for many organisations in Cork. There is a need for enforcement. If we have learned anything from the mistakes in the banking sector it is that there must be accountability. As I stated in this House, a practice must be put in place whereby charities are assisted in this transition. We cannot put all the onus on them. They must be helped to get to the point where there can be strict enforcement but whereby there is accountability and dialogue with the charitable organisations.

I am glad the Minister of State, Deputy Curran, listened. I pay tribute to him and to his officials for these proposals on the practical provisions relating to collection and licensing procedures that have been taken into consideration.

It is important that there will be annual reporting by charitable organisations. I hope smaller charities which fear the new regime do not encounter unnecessary difficulty. The Minister of State referred to that in previous debates.

I crave the Chair's indulgence to make this point. I am disappointed that we have not resolved the issue of the inclusion of sporting organisations and human rights organisations in the Bill. The Minister of State overturned the decision of the Seanad in that regard. I understand why he tabled an amendment to reverse the situation. However, I cannot see why the Government was not in a position to recognise formally the contribution sporting organisations have made to community development and welfare, and I am genuinely disappointed that the amendment in our names and made by the House was reversed by the Government for political reasons.

I again crave the Chair's indulgence. I am disappointed the Minister of State has not taken on board the collaborative viewpoint of this side of the House regarding human rights. Numerous organisations have spoken on this. We had common ground, dialogue, interaction and a willingness by all on this side of the House to move with the Minister of State on this amendment, but there was none. At this stage I still cannot understand the reason we have left human rights out of the Bill and allowed for the maintenance of the status quo. There was a quantum leap forward with respect to mass cards, bogus street collectors and clothing collectors, and uniformity of approach, but there was none regarding human rights.