Alan Shatter (Dublin South, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

Fundraising is another area in which sector-driven efforts to spread best practice can play an important part and the Government continues to support certain initiatives in this area, including the development and promotion of a statement of guiding principles for charitable fundraising that has been developed by the charities sector under the leadership of the voluntary charity umbrella body Irish Charities Tax Research. These guiding principles, at the core of which are respect, honesty and openness, aim to provide a set of agreed and accessible standards to charitable fundraising strategies and projects. My Department is providing grant support for this initiative. I have encouraged all charities to sign up and adhere to these principles, which represent a simple yet demonstrable commitment on the part of charities to better accountability and transparency. To date, although I have been pleased to see that sign-up by charities to the principles has been growing in recent months, unfortunately thus far only a relatively small number of charities have formally committed themselves to the principles and this is a matter of concern. Although there have been some additional commitments in recent months I see no reason the overwhelming majority of charities, if not all, should not make such a commitment. My Department continues to support this initiative with the aim of increasing the share of fundraising that conforms to these principles but such an initiative requires the support and participation of charities which are engaged in fundraising to be meaningful and I urge all charities that carry out fundraising to commit publicly to these best practice principles.

The motion before the House notes the link between effective regulation of the charities sector and the objectives of the forthcoming national giving campaign, which is one of several initiatives of the Forum for Philanthropy and Fundraising. Through this forum, Government is working with major philanthropic organisations and other stakeholders to unlock the potential of philanthropic giving in Ireland by creating a favourable environment for individual and corporate giving and developing fundraising capacity. The forum was re­convened in 2011 by my colleague, Deputy Phil Hogan, Minister for the Environment, Community and Local Government, and reported in May 2012. One of the recommendations of the forum was to create a national giving campaign aimed at increasing private giving, in particular planned giving, by 10% each year to 2016. It also aims to raise awareness and understanding of the value of philanthropy and planned giving among all sections of Irish society, including high net worth individuals, the corporate sector and the general public, by demonstrating how charitable and philanthropic giving benefits communities throughout the State. A thriving philanthropic and fundraising sector benefits greatly from the availability of readily accessible, good quality information on the non-profit organisations that it supports. Information on the income and activities of charities enables progress and developments within the field to be tracked and understood over time and useful international comparisons to be made. The gradual implementation of the Charities Act and in particular the measures relating to the compilation and publication of certain information on charities will contribute to this. In this way, progress on the implementation of the Act represents an important part of our efforts to create a favourable environment for philanthropy. The giving campaign will be launched later this year and it is envisaged that charities will be encouraged to launch their own campaigns under the umbrella of the national campaign.

I wish to note in particular the work of Senator Mary Ann O'Brien in this area. Senator O'Brien's paper on the implementation of the Charities Act that was published in February during the period of consultation conducted by my Department is a timely, constructive and helpful contribution to our discussion on this matter and to realising our goals. The current situation demands that we approach the task before us with creativity, flexibility and pragmatism and that our actions are informed and underpinned by continuous engagement with the charities sector and those who have a stake in it. Ongoing engagement is crucial in this regard. The active engagement of informed stakeholders such as Senator O'Brien will be critical to our efforts as we seek to put in place on a phased basis a dedicated system for the regulation of charities.

That was a particular issue raised by Senator O'Brien in her contribution. I agree entirely with her that there should be standard accounting practices for charities so there is a clear and understandable format and a clear provision of relevant and comprehensive information in a transparent way that the public understands.

Before closing, I would like to return briefly to the core issue before us, namely, the role played by charities in our society and how we can best support them in it. Charities, by definition, benefit communities through their work, and for this they are indeed worthy of our commendation and thanks, as expressed in tonight's motion. The provisions of the Charities Act are intended to help them to deliver this benefit with transparency, integrity and efficiency. This in turn can help the trust we have in our charities to grow and thrive so that we can contribute to them with confidence. It is in all our interests to have a strong and vibrant charity sector and I look forward to advancing the regulation of the sector in line with this overall objective. I welcome the support on all sides for the motion before the House and as Minister for Justice and Equality I have the greatest pleasure in expressing my full support for its content.