Joe O'Brien (Dublin Fingal, Green Party)
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The Charities Regulatory Authority (the ‘Charities Regulator’) was established in October 2014 pursuant to the Charities Act 2009. The Authority is the State organisation responsible for registering and regulating all of Ireland’s charities, with the mandate to promote good governance practice.

My Department has been assigned responsibility for the Charities Regulator. It is important to note however, that the Regulator is fully independent in the performance of its statutory functions, including the registration of charities.

The criteria for being registered as a charity are set out in the Charities Act 2009 and registration therefore is a robust, legal process to ensure a vibrant, trusted charity sector that is valued for the public benefit that it provides. Each application for registration must be carefully assessed by the Charities Regulator to ensure that the applicant meets the specific requirements set out in the Charities Act 2009.

The Charities Regulator is currently assessing approximately 217 active applications which are at various stages of the registration process. There are no applications for charitable status currently pending decision, where there are no outstanding queries to be submitted by the applicant. This is subject to change on a daily basis as responses to queries are received.