James Browne (Wexford, Fianna Fail)
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444. To ask the Tánaiste and Minister for Justice and Equality if any of the 410 charities that are invested in the common investment fund by the Charities Regulatory Authority are funded by the HSE as section 39 charitable organisations; his views on the fact that the common investment fund held investment in the tobacco industry; his further views on the appropriateness of investment in the tobacco industry by organisations under the remit of his Department; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [35040/17]

James Browne (Wexford, Fianna Fail)
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445. To ask the Tánaiste and Minister for Justice and Equality the date on which the Charities Regulatory Authority formally divested from investments in the tobacco industry that it held through the common investment fund; the date on which this decision was arrived at; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [35041/17]

Charles Flanagan (Laois, Fine Gael)
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I propose to take Questions Nos. 444 and 445 together.

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.

Part 6 of the Charities Act 2009 provided for the dissolution of the former Commissioners of Charitable Donations and Bequests for Ireland and the transfer of the functions of the Commissioners to the Regulator. This included the Commissioners' role regarding the Common Investment Fund which had been established by the Commissioners in 1985 for the management of assets which had been entrusted to them for charitable purposes pursuant to Section 31 of the Charities Act 1961. It should be pointed out that in many cases the assets concerned would have been donated or bequeathed in trust by individuals for charitable purposes and were invested in the Fund on that basis. However, it might be noted that in a majority of cases assets contained in the Fund would not have been invested by individual charitable organisations. Rather the assets would have been entrusted to the Commissioners to be managed for the benefit of charitable organisations. I should point out that the functions relating to the Common Investment Fund are a matter for the Charities Regulator and under Section 14(3) of the Charities Act 2009, the Regulator is independent in the performance of its functions. Accordingly, I as Minister for Justice and Equality, have no role in relation to the matter.

I am advised by the Charities Regulator that it does not have information available as to whether or not any charitable organisations which are funded by the Health Service Executive under Section 39 of the Health Act 2004 hold, or benefit from, investments in the Common Investment Fund. The Regulator has also advised me that no new investor has been admitted to the Common Investment Fund since June 2012. I understand that the Authority has instigated a strategic review of the Common Investment Fund which includes a long term sustainability policy, with a responsible investment focus indicative of best practice for responsible investment globally. In the interim, the Authority took a decision on 20 June 2017 to divest the Common Investment Fund of tobacco-related stocks. As of 22 June 2017, no tobacco-related stocks were held in the Fund.