Olwyn Enright (Laois-Offaly, Fine Gael)
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Question 66: To ask the Minister for Community, Rural and Gaeltacht Affairs when the full charities Bill will be published; the reason he has failed to deal with the legal structures and status of charities under existing laws; his views on whether this may hinder the ability of the charity sector to comply with his proposed legislation; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [10771/06]

Olwyn Enright (Laois-Offaly, Fine Gael)
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Question 75: To ask the Minister for Community, Rural and Gaeltacht Affairs when the full charities Bill will be published; the feedback he has received from the sector regarding the heads of the Bill, which were published recently; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [10772/06]

Dan Boyle (Cork South Central, Green Party)
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Question 99: To ask the Minister for Community, Rural and Gaeltacht Affairs when it is intended that the heads of the proposed charities Bill will be converted into a fully fledged Bill; and when such a Bill will be published and debated in the Houses of the Oireachtas. [10781/06]

Noel Ahern (Dublin North West, Fianna Fail)
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I propose to take Questions Nos. 66, 75 and 99 together.

Two weeks ago, I was pleased to announce Government approval of the general scheme for the Charities Regulation Bill 2006 and its publication on my Department's website, www.pobail.ie. The Government also determined that the general scheme should be sent to the Office of the Attorney General for priority drafting. Deputies will have noted that the general scheme is a large and complex document, comprising 148 heads and four Schedules. However, I hope that priority drafting should facilitate publication of the Charities Regulation Bill during 2006.

The matter of legal structures for charities does not constitute the purpose of the future Charities Regulation Bill, which is to regulate the charities sector for the first time since the foundation of the State. Under An Agreed Programme for Government, there is a commitment to ensure accountability of the charities sector and to protect against abuse of charitable status and fraud. That is the commitment on which the Charities Regulation Bill will deliver.

In the two weeks since publication of the general scheme for the Charities Regulation Bill, the feedback from the charities sector has been favourable. The general scheme has been called "a hugely positive step in the right direction". A welcome has also been given to our stated intention that the legal structure of those charities which are companies limited by guarantee under existing company law will not hinder compliance with the new legislation. The Charities Regulation Bill will ensure that dual registration and dual filing of annual returns, that is, with both the future charities regulator and the Companies Registration Office, will be avoided where corporate charities are concerned.