John Whelan (Labour) | Oireachtas source

I move:

That Seanad Éireann:
- welcomes the passage in 2009 of the Charities Act 2009 which provides for the regulation and supervision of the charitable sector;
- recognises that the charitable sector occupies a place of central importance in our society and economy;
- recalls that the objectives of the Charities Act include the enhancement of public trust and confidence in charities and increased transparency in the sector;
- further welcomes the commencement of certain sections of the Charities Act through Statutory Instruments 284/2009 and 315/2010;
- understands that there are resource considerations that have led to the deferral for the present of further implementation of the Charities Act;
- recognises the role played by the charities sector in enhancing its transparency and accountability, including with respect to levels of remuneration packages and administration costs; and further recognises the potential for voluntary codes of practice to play a part in this; and
- notes that it remains the intention of the Government to implement the Act in full as resources permit and looks forward to the full implementation of the Act.

I welcome the Minister of State at the Department of Health, Deputy Kathleen Lynch, who is substituting for the Minister for Justice and Equality, Deputy Alan Shatter, who is unavoidably absent. I appreciate the Minister of State coming to the House as she has a busy schedule and has come straight from the other House where she took Priority Questions. I commend the Tánaiste for his insight and excellent choice in appointing the Minister of State as director of elections for the Labour Party for the forthcoming referendum. One could not have a better advocate on one's side. We call on her to use her powers of persuasion, experience and bring her influence to bear on the Government to implement in full the Charities Act 2009.

There is no intention to cast aspersions on any charity or disparage anyone or the excellent work conducted in Ireland and abroad by those involved in the fantastic charity sector and the vibrant voluntary sector that makes a significant contribution across a range of areas and services on a daily basis. What we seek is greater accountability and transparency which will underpin rather than undermine the important work done by the charity sector. There is substantial evidence that guidelines, voluntary codes of practice, even with the best of intentions, self-regulation and light touch regulation, as we have found to our cost, do not work. This has been proved time and again across all strata and sections of society. If we are to learn anything from the mistakes of the past, it is that a hands-off, fingers crossed, laissez-faire approach is a recipe for disaster where everybody ends up paying a high price for the sins of a few.

The Charities Act 2009 is good legislation. It took the best part of ten years to get it through the Oireachtas following widespread consultation with stakeholders in the charity sector, a number of whom are in the Visitors Gallery. No one who is responsible and none of the key players and stakeholders within the sector is impeding implementation of the legislation; on the contrary, they are appealing to the Government to implement it. We are trying to give impetus to their endeavours to ensure their good work is not impeded by doubts about how funding is utilised. There is far too much at stake.

I acknowledge the assistance provided by the Library and Research Service in preparing for the debate. It provided the data and information which formed the basis for the motion. I thought I knew a little about what was going on in the charity sector. While many of the players are small operators, there are 7,800 charities registered and recognised by the Revenue Commissioners. I was astounded to find through a multiplicity of sources - philanthropy, donations from a generous public and State aid by way of grants and supports provided by the taxpayer - that the estimated resources available to the sector on an annual basis was €6 billion, virtually half the budget of the Department of Health which is experiencing its own difficulties, as the Minister of State is aware. There is a high level of scrutiny across all sectors of public expenditure, rightly so.

Some of the cutbacks in the health sector are difficult to bear and hard to fathom. I have in mind home helps, personal assistants and carers. Last week in County Laois two respite homes were under threat of closure. Given the cutbacks, we would be negligent in our duty if we did not ensure we got the best value from all resources and reserves. At a time when the Department of Health and the Health Service Executive are agonising daily on service provision it cannot follow that there is not the same level of scrutiny, transparency and accountability and the best value is not achieved, as brought to our attention regularly by Senator Sean D. Barrett, from the significant investment and resources made available to the charity and voluntary sector.

We are not having a go at the Minister for Justice and Equality who is responsible for implementation of the Charities Act 2009. I understand he is being curtailed and restricted by his Cabinet colleagues, the Minister for Finance and the Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform, who say it would be too expensive and not cost effective at this time to establish what some have incorrectly characterised as a new quango in the office of a charity regulator. That is false economy and ill-judged; it is penny wise and pound foolish. If there was the political will, a way would be found to implement the Act in full and establish an office of regulator, without it becoming a monstrosity, to serve the charity sector, assist it in its work, underwrite its bona fidesand ensure public money is well spent.

It has been stated there is a danger one could tar everyone with the same brush, but that is not the purpose of this exercise, as the vast majority of charities operate to the highest standards and are pushing for implementation of the Act. All it takes is one bad egg or a few bad apples to give the entire sector a bad name, undermine public trust and the entire funding process begins to unravel and the good work is damaged indefinitely. Given substantial annual funding of €6 billion, it would be foolish to think that without scrutiny by an office of regulator that in every instance we would be afforded good value. There is substantial duplication and an overlap. I question the idea that one should be able to set up a charity and call it after oneself by having a few open buckets to start collecting and expect the public to believe it is all hunky-dory. This is not just my view but a sentiment echoed recently by the Ombudsman and Information Commissioner, Ms Emily O'Reilly, who said the rules of good governance and ethical behaviour should apply to small charitable institutions as much as they did to large banks. She went on to say that the day would come when a largely uncritical and undemanding public that contributed to and supported charitable causes would begin to demand a larger say in how one went about one's business. Therefore, I have tabled the motion in good faith and with the best of intentions. An Act that took a long time to get through the Houses of the Oireachtas should not be left languishing on the shelf to gather dust but put to good use in the interests of the charity sector to recognise the generosity of the people and ensure we get the best value for money and that if there are persons who are unscrupulous, it might help to weed them out.