Katherine Zappone (Independent) | Oireachtas source

I welcome the Minister to the House. I will begin where he concluded by commending my colleague, Senator O'Brien, for the extraordinary work she has done since she was appointed and her passion for this area. I also thank those who worked with her so ably and many of the great representatives of the sector, who are in the Gallery, and those who have worked and continue to work hard to support the sector and our work in trying to get movement on these issues.

Every once in a while I whispered to my colleagues in the Chamber as the Minister gave his speech. It was a great, fulsome, thoughtful, comprehensive and heartening speech. I hope it was heartening for those who have participated in the sector and those who continue to do so. The speech contained a lot of information. I assure him that I and others in the sector will quote it and take it as a heartening response to what we are discussing, namely, his efforts to define charity and the consultative process. He will bring forward proposals on the provisions to implement the Act on a phased and low-cost basis.

He went beyond the issues we are discussing in his conclusion, in terms of voluntary measures. I thank him, and congratulate him and those who support him. The speech and the willingness of the Minister to engage with us in that way is a great and ongoing response to the motion tabled by our group, led by Senator Mac Conghail, on having a national debate on the current context of the not-for-profit sector.

I am sure many people looked closely at the motion, in particular our last bullet point. Some might have said we did not set the bar too high because we mentioned we looked forward to the publication of the outcome of the Minister's consultation, and further information regarding his timeframe for introducing the charities regulator and the full implementation of the Act. We are reasonable people and expected a reasonable response, and we got one. We set the bar just right.

The Minister indicated to us his awareness that this is a win-win situation for him, his Department and the Government, in terms of what we sought. There are costs, as he indicated. He mentioned the establishment of the regulator and the implementation of the Charities Act, and that he needed to investigate that. He also referred to doing things at a low cost, with which I agree. If the costs are low the benefits can be high. There are benefits to philanthropy. In our earlier motion and the Seanad Public Consultation Committee which examined social entrepreneurship, we found there are major benefits to the establishment and implementation of the Act because it encourages the development of the philanthropic sector, something we need desperately.

There are significant benefits for charities in continuing to partner with the public sector and, as the Minister, my colleagues and others have said, that increases confidence in the sector, something which is needed. We should move forward with great urgency to do the work he laid out.

The Minister is a man with great ambition. I have noticed and complimented him on much of the legislation he introduced. The Government has also introduced a lot of legislation within a very short time. I refer to personal insolvency, governance, regulating the banks, dissolving the IBRC and the referendum on the fiscal stability treaty. Much legislation refers to the economic arena. The Charities Act concerns the social arena. As we have said, if one moves with urgency in the social arena it is of benefit to the economic arena, and he has a sense of that.

The motion urges speed. I welcome the consultative approach of the Minister. I do not think it is a smokescreen for slowing things down. I heard how he will move forward. He has had consultation, which was a great opportunity for Senator O'Brien to outline a great piece of research, and many colleagues fed into the process.

In the 30 years I have lived in this country I have established two charities, worked as a CEO for a non-profit organisations and raised millions of euro. If the Minister wants people like me and our philanthropic colleagues to keep going, he should give us a lift. He is doing that and we await with hope and great expectations his forthcoming invitation.