Thomas Pringle (Donegal South West, Independent)
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500. To ask the Minister for Justice and Equality the way he intends to proceed with the establishment of the independent Charities Regulatory Authority; the cost of the annual registration fee for charities; and when he foresees the authority coming into effect. [35958/13]

Alan Shatter (Dublin South, Fine Gael)
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The Government recently approved plans by my Department to proceed with the establishment of an independent Charities Regulatory Authority under the terms of the 2009 Charities Act. The Authority will be an independent body under the aegis of the Department of Justice and Equality. In addition to functions set out in the Charities Act, it will take on the functions of the Commissioners of Charitable Donations and Bequests for Ireland. The Authority will have a staff of approximately 20. It is envisaged that the Board of the new Authority will be designated later this year, so that the Authority can come into formal operation in 2014. A call for expressions of interest from suitably qualified persons who wish to be considered for appointment to the Board of the new Authority will issue from my Department in the coming months. To ensure the smooth transfer of functions of the Commissioners of Charitable Donations and Bequests for Ireland to the new Authority, it is envisaged that a number of serving Commissioners will also be appointed to the Board of the new Authority.

It is intended that registered charities themselves will be asked to meet some of the cost of their regulation through payment of a modest annual registration fee. The levying of such a fee is provided for in the Charities Act, and the ability to do this enables us to move ahead with putting this much-needed regulatory system in place. We have consulted with the charity sector on the fee structure to be adopted and my Department will take account of the views expressed by charities when deciding on appropriate fee levels. By adopting this approach, the regulation of the sector will in time become largely self-financing. The outcome of the public consultation on charities regulation carried out by my Department earlier this year has been published on the Department's website at www.justice.ie.