Seán Fleming (Laois, Fianna Fail)
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105. To ask the Minister for Justice and Equality the annual funding available to the Charities Regulatory Authority; the current staff numbers; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [19646/16]

Frances Fitzgerald (Dublin Mid West, Fine Gael)
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The regulation of the charity sector is a priority for this Government. The Charities Regulatory Authority (also known as the Charities Regulator) was established as an independent agency on 16 October 2014 and is responsible for the registration and regulation of all the charities active in this country. The key areas of work of the Regulator include registration and award of charitable status, annual reporting, compliance and investigations, charity services and providing a public register and statistical information on the charity sector. I am determined to make sure that the Authority has the necessary staff and financial resources available to achieve its goals.

The Charities Regulator was allocated a significant increase in its pay budget for 2016 to allow for the full complement of staff required to ensure that the full range of provisions contained in the Charities Act 2009 could be commenced as soon as possible. A budget of €2.665 million has been allocated to the Regulator for 2016, compared to a budget of €1.419 million for 2015, an increase of 88%. This increased funding is facilitating recruitment of additional staff in key areas including policy development, registration and reporting, compliance and investigations and communications. On establishment there were 10 staff working in this area which has been increased to 23 currently and the budget for 2016 provides for this to increase further to 36. My Department, together with the Public Appointments Service, is working to put in place the full complement of staff and I expect these staff to be in place in the coming weeks and months.