Jimmy Deenihan (Kerry North-West Limerick, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I thank the Senator for raising this important issue. Like her, I, too, am involved in a number of fundraising initiatives and have been so involved for possibly the past 40 years. I agree that where there is considerable Exchequer and private funding involved, it is important to ensure the confidence and trust of the donor are paramount. Otherwise people will stop giving. I empathise with what the Senator is saying and assure her that the Minister for Justice and Equality is fully cognisant of the need to ensure the highest standards of transparency and good governance in the charity sector. Accordingly, she is committed to ensuring the Charities Regulatory Authority will be an effective regulator of the sector.

Among the principal functions of the authority set out in section 14 of the Charities Act 2009 is the requirement for the authority to increase public trust and confidence in the management and administration of charitable trusts and organisations. The staffing of the authority has been increased since its establishment on 16 October 2014. It must be noted that the authority is just more than one year old and still very much in a capacity building phase. The significant increase in resources being made available by the Government to the authority in 2016 is a clear signal of the Government's determination to ensure the authority will continue to expand its range of activities and become a strong regulator of the sector.