Michael Mullins (Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I welcome the Minister and his statement that regulation will be addressed very quickly. It is a scandal that a few greedy people have done so much damage to the charitable sector in recent months. It is also a disgrace that, after more than 90 years as a sovereign State, we have not yet managed to regulate charities, which channel large sums of money nationwide.

We must acknowledge that many wonderful charities do amazing work caring for the most vulnerable in society and many operate on a voluntary basis. The Society of Saint Vincent de Paul, for example, relies almost exclusively on volunteers to run its organisation, including in my home town of Ballinasloe where it does amazing work. Organisations such as Concern and Trócaire, which are funded through Irish Aid, are well regulated and must meet stringent conditions before they can receive moneys from Irish Aid. We are all aware of the amazing work such organisations do with the most deprived people on the planet. Were it not for non-governmental organisations coming to the assistance of people in the Philippines, Syria and many other troubled parts of the world, the unfortunate people in these regions would be in a much worse position.

Once every charity has been registered and is properly regulated and accounts for all of its finances, we will have to rebuild trust in the charitable sector in order that people start contributing to charities again. Last Saturday night, I took part in a church gate collection on behalf of the Irish Heart Foundation. While people are still generous, they are a little more sceptical, with some asking whether we had permits and so forth. A major job of work remains to be done to restore confidence in the sector. In applauding the work the Minister is doing I urge him to bring the matter to finality as a matter of urgency.