Joan Burton (Dublin West, Labour)
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Question 322: To ask the Minister for Community, Rural and Gaeltacht Affairs the control measures that exist in respect of collectors of old clothes who leave plastic bags at domestic premises for subsequent collection in respect of the Charities Act 2007 and the regulation of charities; the way a person can verify the bona fides of such groups; if such groups are required specifically to be registered as a charity; if his attention has been drawn to the fact that there are many complaints of such groups dropping bags at all hours of the day and night much to the annoyance of local residents; and if he will make a statement on the regulation of such activities. [10067/10]

John Curran (Dublin Mid West, Fianna Fail)
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There are two issues of public concern raised in the Deputy's Question. Firstly, there is the practice of non-charities representing themselves as charities when collecting clothing and bric-a-brac from residences. Secondly, there is the public nuisance that can be caused by undertaking such collections at anti-social hours.

At present, certain collectors of clothing and bric-a-brac convey the impression in their promotional literature that they are charitable in nature, when this may not actually be the case. This may lead some people to donate to such collections in the belief that they are supporting a charity. I consider that this is unfair both to donors, whose intention in donating such items is to help those in need, and to genuine charities, and in particular charity shops, that are reportedly losing out on donations as a consequence. I believe strongly that the public should be empowered to verify the charitable bona fides of such collectors.

At present, there is no public register of charities operating in Ireland, although the Revenue Commissioners publish a list of current "CHY" holders – organisations that have qualified for charitable tax exemptions – on their website, www.revenue.ie, which is publicly accessible. I would recommend that members of the public check this list if they have concerns about the authenticity of any collector.

However, the Charities Act 2009, which I brought to enactment last year, will, when fully commenced, address this problem substantively. The cornerstone of the new statutory regulatory regime for charities will be a Charities Regulatory Authority with extensive regulatory powers and a publicly accessible Register of Charities upon which any charity operating in Ireland must be registered. It will be an offence for any organisation that is not on the Register of Charities to describe itself or its activities in such a way as to lead the public to assume that the organisation is a registered charity. This will limit the scope for non-charities to suggest that they are charitable in nature. By checking the Register, the public will be in a position to distinguish between charitable and non-charitable collections, and to make better-informed decisions about which collections they choose to support. The commencement of this provision is contingent upon both the new Authority and the Register of Charities being in place, and my Department is rolling out an implementation plan for the Act at the moment.

The second aspect of public concern raised by the Deputy is the nuisance caused to the public by certain collectors delivering leaflets or undertaking collections at irregular hours. Whilst I do agree that the methods of certain collectors leave a lot to be desired, I have no statutory function in relation to such matters. I understand, however, that local authorities have powers under the Waste Management Act 1996 to enable them to control collections where they are of the opinion that such waste collections are being undertaken for the purposes of reward, with a view to profit, or otherwise in the course of business. Such collections require a permit from a local authority for each region in which a collection is to be undertaken.