Caít Keane (Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I welcome the Minister of State and the visitors to the House. I commend those who have proposed this important motion. It is important for us to continue to implement the Charities Act 2009. I commend the previous Government for introducing it. As the Minister of State said, however, just five sections of it have been activated. Much more of the Act needs to be implemented. The aim of the Act is to achieve a public benefit. As we know, the charitable sector has an important role to play in our society. The 2009 Act defines a "charitable purpose" as "the prevention or relief of poverty or economic hardship" or "the advancement of education". The thousands of different charitable groups in this country are doing a multitude of works. One of the objectives of the 2009 Act is to enhance "public trust and confidence" in charities. One of the ways of accomplishing this objective is to increase transparency and accountability in the sector.

As the Minister of State said, certain sections of the 2009 Act have not been commenced. The essential point, as she noted, is the resource implications of further advancements in this regard. It is like the chicken and the egg. The regulations said that a regulatory authority should be established; and the Act cannot be implemented without such an authority being established. The way the Act was drawn up means we have to find a way of doing much of the work that should be done, in line with the spirit of the Act, in the absence of a regulatory authority. I ask the Minister of State to consider how that might be done. As she said, it is a deferral rather than a cancellation. How long will it be deferred for? We should be doing something in the meantime. This deferral should not obscure the pivotal role of the charity sector itself in increasing transparency and accountability. It is self-evident that the remuneration packages should be made public, for example.

There is clear potential for voluntary codes to play a constructive role in advancing transparency and accountability. I know the voluntary sector is very active in providing that transparency voluntarily. A statement of guiding principles for charitable fund-raising has been developed by the Irish Charities Tax Research group. The Minister of State should examine how the existing voluntary code of principles and practices can be enhanced. Perhaps it could be amended to make it more user-friendly and to entice more charities to sign up to it. There might be a case for introducing regulations or legislation to make more charities register with the voluntary guiding principles. Perhaps the provision of funding could depend on registration with the voluntary guiding principles. That might be a tiny step forward. The Act provides a comprehensive statutory regulatory framework for Irish charities. The commendable drafting of the original Bill and passage of the eventual Act coincided with a time of extraordinary growth in the economy. We do not have the economy we had at that time. I suppose I understand why the Minister of State has suggested we need to cut our cloth according to size. Given that there are two ways to skin a cat, however, perhaps we should consider strengthening the voluntary element of the regime in the meantime.

I do not know if the Senators who proposed the motion have costed the whole thing. I would not expect them to have done so because as Senators, we do not have the requisite research facilities. The Department should examine what it would cost. It might not cost that much. The establishment of another quango - the regulatory body - might concern some people. As Senator Bacik said, however, it might be possible for staff from other bodies to be transferred to the regulatory body to allow it to do its work. The dedicated regulation of Irish charities would be a welcome development. Charities provide many important services. There is a huge social dividend from what is done by Irish charities and their thousands of volunteers. At a time when there is a great deal of discussion on the remuneration that is paid to people, we should be commending the charities' volunteers who give so generously of their time. I have come across many of them during my time in public life. I was a director of a charity - the South Dublin Pakistan Earthquake Appeal - that is now closed down. It is not easy to set up a charity. One has to go through hoops in order to meet the regulations laid down by the registration office, etc. I thank Mr. John Ellis and Ms Geraldine Brogan who worked tirelessly on registration and compliance. Many people err on the side of caution by going over and above what they have to do to comply with the Act. The Act has been implemented in full by many charities that are not required to do so. We have to examine those charities that have not done so.

I ask the Minister of State to reflect on the governance of the whole charitable sector in Ireland, which is an issue that was raised by Senator Quinn. There is a great deal of duplication of charitable exercises in this country. Perhaps people are running around the wheel backwards and meeting each other coming forward. They might be doing the same thing without doing it in the most effective and efficient way. Barnardos, which is a great organisation, had to shut down for a week because of a funding shortfall. Are there other charities that might have to do the same thing? We should not think that charities are not worthwhile. They are significant. We should consider how we can eliminate duplication in cases where seven, eight or nine charities are doing the same thing. Each of them has to furnish its office and employ its staff. I accept that the good people in question are committed and I appreciate that each charity was established for a specific reason. As the Cathaoirleach is looking at me, I will conclude by saying that the charitable sector is close to my heart. Those involved in it have to be commended for the work they are doing, much of which is voluntary.