Jonathan O'Brien (Cork North Central, Sinn Fein)
Link to this: Individually | In context

Question 26: To ask the Minister for Community, Equality and Gaeltacht Affairs if she will affirm her commitment to the independence of the community sector; if she will detail any planned reforms that will affect the sector; the form that consultation will take in advance of any such reforms; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [7971/11]

Frances Fitzgerald (Dublin Mid West, Fine Gael)
Link to this: Individually | In context

The independence of the community voluntary sector has been a long principle underpinning the relationship between the State and the Community and Voluntary Sector. This was set out in the White Paper on a Framework for Supporting Voluntary Activity, published in 2000, and re-affirmed under the Towards 2016 Partnership Agreement in 2006.

To give effect to commitments under Towards 2016 to engaging with the community & voluntary sector to deepen the partnership between statutory bodies and community and voluntary organisations, my Department has been seeking to develop a structured dialogue process with the 17 members of the Community and Voluntary Pillar. It has been proposed that the dialogue process would be undertaken initially on a bilateral basis and, subject to good progress being made, that other Departments would be invited to engage on cross-cutting issues. A draft proposal has been circulated to the members of the Community and Voluntary Pillar along these lines.

In relation to planned reforms of the sector, the Deputy will be aware that the Charities Act 2009 is designed to reform the law in relation to charities in this country. The Act 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. To date, a number of sections of the Act have commenced - to regulate the sale of pre-signed Mass cards and to make provision to grant powers in any proceedings to the courts to grant relief to charity trustees from personal liability for breach of trust, where the opinion of the court is that the trustee concerned acted in good faith and ought to be excused.

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. A critical aspect of the implementation process involves delivering on the commitment 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. It is hoped that a public consultation process on this matter will be initiated over the coming months. My Department has also 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 three-year period.