John Kelly (Labour) | Oireachtas source

I support calls for the setting up of the charities regulator as a matter of urgency considering what we have read today about the level of profit received by Rehab for the sale of €4 million worth of lottery tickets. I was a voluntary, part-time fund-raiser for the Irish Wheelchair Association between 1980 and 1987. Every penny I raised for the association went directly to it. In 1987 I was also aware of charities selling lottery tickets and the word at the time was that 1% of every pound went to the charity while 99% went on administration costs. The figures in the newspapers today show that the situation is worse now because 5.25% of every euro is given to the charity and 94.75% of sales go to administration costs. This is outrageous and it needs to be tackled. Until such time as the charities regulator is established, we will not be able to deal with it. That is how urgent the matter is.