Irish charity regulatory body gets government approval

Howard Lake | 25 July 2013 | News

The Irish government has given the go-ahead for the establishment of a Charities Regulatory Authority in 2014.

Under the 2009 Charities Act, a body was to have been established to regulate charities and their fundraising activities earlier, but this was delayed due to the financial crisis in Ireland. It is hoped that the new body will increase public trust and confidence in charitable organisations.

The authority will:

• promote compliance by charity trustees with their duties in the control and management of charitable trusts and charitable organisations;
   
• promote the effective use of the property of charitable trusts or charitable organisations;
   
• ensure the accountability of charitable organisations to donors and beneficiaries of charitable gifts, and the public;
   
• promote understanding of the requirement that charitable purposes confer a public benefit;
   
• establish and maintain a register of charitable organisations;
   
• ensure and monitor compliance by charitable organisations with this Act;
   
• carry out investigations in accordance with this Act;
   
• encourage and facilitate the better administration and management of charitable organisations by the provision of information or advice, including in particular by way of issuing (or, as it considers appropriate, approving) guidelines, codes of conduct, and model constitutional documents;
   
• carry on such activities or publish such information (including statistical information) concerning charitable organisations and trusts as it considers appropriate;
   
• provide information (including statistical information) or advice, or make proposals, to the Minister on matters relating to the functions of the Authority.

Irish justice minister Alan Shatter said: "Transparency, accountability and good governance are at the heart of the Charities Act.  Members of the public quite rightly want to have confidence that their donations to charity are being used as they intended.”

To help meet the costs of regulating the charity sector, registered charities will be required to pay an annual registration fee to the new Authority, as provided for by the Charities Act.  These fees will be set in regulations by the Minister.

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.