Catherine Noone (Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

There is a report highlighted in Ms Mary Regan's article in the Irish Examiner today, where a letter from the HSE to the Committee of Public Accounts shows that the administrator appointed by the executive has found significant issues related to the final salary payment and retirement packages approved for the former executive of the CRC. No doubt further issues will arise today at the committee with regard to the former chief's appearance there. The furthering of the scandal continues to erode the people's confidence in the charity sector. I believe that we need something to bolster this confidence and would call for the establishment of a charity quality standard to help restore confidence in the sector. A mark such as this could be awarded to charities that adhere to certain standards, such as publishing annual accounts and using a fixed amount of donations to pay for administration. No doubt we need the Charities Bill to be implemented but in the interim, a measure such as this would go a long way towards bolstering the damaged reputation of charities. Charitable donations have slumped over the Christmas and have continued to be below expectation. In fact, the Society of St. Vincent de Paul has suffered a massive 25% drop in donations and there is little doubt that other voluntary organisations are experiencing a similar drop-off in charitable giving. Public confidence in the charity sector is understandably shaken and we need to conduct an urgent reappraisal of how we can benchmark and grade the charities. Establishing a quality standard for charities would help people that they are donating with confidence, safe in the knowledge that their money will be spent on services for the vulnerable or needy. I would urge the Deputy Leader to arrange a debate with the Minister for Justice and Equality, Deputy Shatter, on the charities sector in general and the Bill in particular. It would afford me the opportunity to raise with him the possibility of an interim measure, such as a quality standard mark for charities.