Michael McGrath (Cork South Central, Fianna Fail)
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161. To ask the Minister for Finance the current number of applications for charitable status; the length of time it is typically taking for applications to be processed; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [7403/17]

Michael Noonan (Limerick City, Fine Gael)
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It is unclear as to whether the Deputy's question relates to charitable status or charitable tax exempt status. The former relates to the regulatory control of charities, and the processing of applications for charitable status, is a matter for the Charities Regulatory Authority (CRA), which was established in October 2014 under the aegis of the Department of Justice and Equality.

The Charitable Tax Exemption scheme is administered by Revenue in accordance with Section 207 of the 1997 Taxes Consolidation Act. The scheme provides relief from Income Tax, Corporation Tax, Capital Gains Tax, Capital Acquisitions Tax, Deposit Interest Retention Tax (DIRT), Dividend Withholding Tax and Stamp Duties in certain circumstances, to bodies or trusts that are established solely for charitable purposes.

Revenue's role in administering the Charitable Tax Exemption schemeincludes processing and vetting applications from bodies or trusts claiming entitlement to the relief. Revenue receives an average of three hundred new applications for the relief each year and has advised me that the usual processing time is approximately three weeks. 

For the Deputy's information, there are almost 8,000 bodies currently holding Charitable Tax Exemption status. The full list is available at the following link.