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Minister for Justice, Equality and Defence, Alan Shatter, T.D., is to publish a consultation before the end of the year on his plans for bringing the Charities Act into force. This legislation was enacted in 2009 in order to strengthen the regulation of charities and increase their transparency and accountability to those that fund them although it hasn’t yet been implemented owing to the anticipated cost of setting up a charities regulator, which the Act requires.

Speaking on behalf of Minister Shatter at the Annual Conference of charity umbrella organisation Irish Charities Tax Research in Dublin on Thursday 8^th November, Minister of State at the Department of Justice and Equality, Kathleen Lynch T.D., said the Department plans to publish the consultation before the end of the year.

Minister Lynch added: "The consultation will invite views from charities, other interested stakeholders, and members of the public on issues connected with the implementation of the Charities Act. These will include the setting up of a Charities Regulatory Authority; the statutory registration of charities and granting of charitable status; and the types of information that a Charities Regulatory Authority might require from registered charities each year."

Acknowledging the vital part played by the charities sector in communities across the country, Minister Lynch said: "A strong and healthy charitable sector is not only characterised by its work, but also by the trust and confidence of the public. It has long been recognised that good practice and high levels of accountability and transparency in charities are essential elements in building and maintaining that trust. Levels of trust and confidence in charities in Ireland are consistently found to be high in surveys of the public. And there are many examples of best practice, good governance and strong accountability and transparency across the sector. Such practice needs to be supported where it is found and spread to where it is not."

Minister Lynch also emphasised the important role of sector-driven methods of enhancing best practice in accountability and transparency and urged all charities to sign up to the Guiding Principles for Charitable Fundraising. These were developed in partnership between the charities sector and Government in a project managed by ICTR. To date, sign-up by fundraising charities has been disappointing. The project is supported by funding from the Department of Justice.

ENDS

Notes for Editors

The theme of the Conference was ‘Renewing our purpose: The role of charities intoday’s Ireland.’ For further information on the ICTR Conference go to the ICTR website at