Michael Ring (Mayo, Fine Gael)
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Question 36: To ask the Minister for Community, Rural and Gaeltacht Affairs the timeframe for the commencement of the Charities Act 2009; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [14315/10]

Pat Carey (Dublin North West, Fianna Fail)
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The Charities Act, which was signed into law on 28 February 2009, is structured in such a way to allow it to be commenced in whole or in part from different date(s) by way of Ministerial Order(s). As the Deputy will be aware, the Act will, when fully commenced, introduce a comprehensive modern regulatory framework for charities in Ireland for the first time. The Act provides, inter alia, for the establishment of a new Charities Regulatory Authority, which will be responsible for establishing and maintaining a Register of Charities. Any organisation that wishes to operate as a charity within this jurisdiction will have to be on the Register. Only organisations that have been established exclusively for charitable purposes, and which have a public benefit, will be permitted entry onto the Register. The new Authority will also take on the functions of the Office of Commissioners of Charitable Donations and Bequests for Ireland, which is to be dissolved.

The Act further provides that any organisation that holds charitable tax exemptions from the Revenue Commissioners on the day the Register of Charities is introduced will be automatically deemed to be entered onto the Register, and thus such organisations will not have to apply to the new Authority for registration. In co-operation with the Revenue Commissioners, my officials are working to ensure that the information legally required to be published on the Register of Charities will be in place on establishment day. As there are well over 7,000 such organisations, the Deputy will appreciate that there is a considerable body of work to be done in this regard alone.

Another aspect of the implementation process is delivering on the commitment to consult with the charities sector in relation to the type of financial and activity reporting that charities will be required to make to the new Authority. This consultation is to be carried out parallel to, and will most likely be informed by, a broader review of the UK & Ireland Generally Agreed Accounting Principles (GAAP) that is being undertaken by the Accountancy Standards Board at the moment. The Charities Regulation Unit of my Department hosted a highly successful conference on this issue in January 2010 in Dublin Castle.

The majority of the provisions of the Charities Act are contingent upon both the new Authority and the Register of Charities being in place, though, subject to legal advice, some further individual provisions of the Act may be commenced before the bulk of the Act is commenced. Thus far, section 99, which regulates the sale of pre-signed Mass cards, has been commenced. This came into effect from 1 September 2009. It has been the subject of a constitutional challenge, which failed in the High Court, but which, I am given to understand, is to be brought before the Supreme Court. It should also be recognised that I have outlined only some of the elements of the implementation plan for the Act that is being rolled out by my Department to ensure that the essential elements are in place to enable the introduction of the statutory regulatory framework provided for in the Act. In other countries, for example, Scotland, it has taken a number of years after enactment of the legislation for the new regulatory system for charities to be formally introduced and this will be the case in Ireland also.