Terence Flanagan (Dublin North East, Fine Gael)
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Question 158: To ask the Minister for Community, Equality and Gaeltacht Affairs the position regarding the Charities Act (details supplied); and if she will make a statement on the matter. [7819/11]

Frances Fitzgerald (Dublin Mid West, Fine Gael)
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The Charities Act 2009 is structured in such a way as to allow for commencement, by Ministerial order, of its individual provisions on different dates over a period of time. While commencement of the majority of the Act is contingent on a Charities Regulatory Authority and a Charity Appeals Tribunal being in place, a number of initiatives to regulate and enhance the transparency of the sector have been progressed since the legislation was enacted.

Two commencement orders, bringing 7 sections of the Charities Act into law have been passed. These relate to:

- section 99 of the Act (which regulates the sale of pre-signed Mass cards and some relevant technical sections); and

- sections 4 and 90 of the Act (section 4 allows for Ministerial orders or regulations under the Act, while section 90 makes provision to grant powers in any proceedings to the courts to grant relief to charity trustees from personal liability for breach of trust).

In addition, the Deputy should note that:

- In relation to the Register of Charities, the Act 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. Work on ensuring that the information legally required to be published on the Register will be in place on establishment day is being advanced. This is a considerable body of work as there are well over 7,000 such organisations.

- My Department is providing funding towards the development of a comprehensive public database and website of all not-for-profit entities operating in Ireland. It is considered that this project will greatly enhance the public transparency of the Irish non-profit sector.

- With regard to financial and activity reporting by charities, it is proposed to consult with the charities sector in relation to the type of financial and activity reporting that they will be required to make to the new Authority. This consultation is to be carried out parallel to a broader review of the UK & Ireland Generally Agreed Accounting Principles (GAAP) that is being undertaken by the Accountancy Standards Board at the moment. It is hoped that a public consultation process on this matter will be initiated over the coming months.

- With regard to the regulation of charitable fund-raising, my Department has been providing funding and working in partnership with the charities sector to develop a scheme to implement and monitor a voluntary Code of Practice for Fund-raising by charities. In this context, Guiding Principles for Fund-raising were recently produced and have been disseminated to the charities sector. A Monitoring Group, which will include representation from my Department, is also being established to monitor adherence to the codes and to generally review their operation over a 3 year period.

Finally, the Deputy should note that responsibility for this area will transfer to the Department of Justice and Equality over the coming weeks. Accordingly, continuing to advance the regulation of the Irish charities sector through both statutory and non-statutory means will be a matter for that Department to progress.