Minister of State at the Department of Community, Rural and Gaeltacht Affairs, John Curran, T.D., is delighted to announce the enactment of the Charities Bill.

Minister Curran said -

“This is a very important day for the charities sector in Ireland. There has been talk for many years of introducing legislation to regulate the charities sector in Ireland, and I am very pleased to be now in a position to deliver the Charities Act 2009, which will provide the cornerstone for strong, yet proportionate, regulation of charities. I would like to thank my predecessors as Minister of State, Noel Ahern and Pat Carey, whose considerable personal commitment, along with the support of the Attorney General and his officials, brought to fruition the Act we have before us today. I would also like to thank representatives from across the political spectrum, and from the charities sector itself, for their positive engagement over the last number of years in the inclusive consultative approach taken by my Department.”

The Charities Act provides for a new Charities Regulatory Authority and a “Register of Charities” upon which any charity operating in Ireland must be entered, and which will be available to the public. Charities will have to keep proper books of account, and provide information to the new Authority on their charitable activities, which will also be made available to the general public. This will enable people to verify the charitable bona fides of organisations that call on their support. It will herald in a new era of transparency and accountability for charities. 

Minister Curran continued - 

“The charities sector is held in the highest esteem by the people of Ireland, and rightly so. Yet, the absence of regulation leaves the sector as a whole potentially open to abuse, including by organisations who may make themselves out to the public to be charitable in nature, yet are actually profit based. In this context I was very much aware in framing the legislation of public concerns over certain door-to-door clothing collections, so the Act will make it an offence for any non-charity to create the impression that it is a charity.

Another matter of public concern has been the sale of pre-signed Mass cards in shops. The Bill will make it an offence for these Mass cards to be sold without the agreement of the Catholic Church. 

Proper regulation will enhance public confidence in genuine charities, and strengthen the sector as a result. Yet this Act is really only another step on the road to regulation. There is a considerable body of work yet to be done before the new regulatory regime can come into force on the ground, and my officials and myself look forward to working with the sector as we move towards that day.”

Further information on Charities Legislation is available on the Department of Community, Rural & Gaeltacht Affairs website.