Charity 'czar' likely in new charities bill
Howard Lake | 13 March 2006 | News
A charities regulator with powers to investigate and prosecute charities accused of misconduct will be appointed under new Irish government plans to overhaul the charitable sector, according to press reports. The Charities Regulation Bill 2006 will be published shortly.
The Bill will give powers to enter premises, remove charity trustees and freeze assets of charities which do not comply with the legislation. It would also contain measures to oblige charities to file annual returns on fundraising activities or risk being ‘named and shamed’ by the regulator.
In addition, ‘chuggers’ who approach people in the street asking them to sign up and make donations will need a permit for such activities in the future.
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The Irish Charities Tax Reform Group, which represents over 150 of Ireland’s leading charities, welcomed the moves.
Chairman Richard Dixon said: “The charity sector in Ireland has been calling for a regulator to oversee its work and support its development for the past 20 years. The announcement is a hugely positive step in the right direction.”
At present, groups raising money for or on behalf of charities have no legal obligation to declare how much they collect or where the money is spent. A new register of charities would be accessible to the public but the identity of donors could be withheld.
There are over 6000 charities in the Irish Republic and this will be the first piece of legislation regulating the sector in 30 years.
About Howard Lake
Howard Lake is consultant editor of UK Fundraising. He founded the site in 1994 and successfully sold it in 2022. As director of Giving X Ltd he is exploring growing giving on a massive scale.
He is the founder of Fundraising Camp and co-founder of GoodJobs.