John Curran (Dublin Mid West, Fianna Fail)
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223. To ask the Tánaiste and Minister for Justice and Equality the increase that has been made to the staff in the Charities Regulators Office; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [33470/17]

Charles Flanagan (Laois, Fine Gael)
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The Charities Regulatory Authority ('Charities Regulator') was established on 16 October 2014 pursuant to the Charities Act 2009. It is Ireland's statutory regulator for charitable organisations and is an independent regulatory agency under the aegis of my Department. Its mission is to regulate the charity sector in the public interest to ensure compliance with the law and to support best practice in the governance, management and administration of charities.

On establishment day (i.e. on 16 October 2014) there were 10 staff assigned to the Regulator. Staff headcount increased to 18 at end 2015 and to 30 at end 2016. The current staff count in the Charities Regulator is 37. However the Regulator was provided with funding to reach a staffing of 50 in the course of 2017 and and my Department is committed to working with the CRA to achieve its full approved staffing complement of 50 as soon as possible.