# Irish charity regulator accused of failing in its duties

- Link: https://fundraising.co.uk/2015/06/09/irish-charity-regulator-accused-of-failing-in-its-duties/
- Published: 2015-06-09T08:39:44+01:00
- Author: Howard Lake

A former charity director has accused the Irish charity regulator of having no power
after it refused to intervene in a dispute over fundraising activity and governance
issues.

[According to the Irish Examiner](http://www.irishexaminer.com/ireland/charity-directors-quit-after-being-abandoned-by-watchdog-332659.html),
David Hall, a former director of the Saoirse Foundation, wrote to Úna Ní Dhubhghaill
at the [Charities Regulatory Authority](https://www.charitiesregulatoryauthority.ie)
in March expressing his concerns at what he claimed were attempts by the Foundation
CEO Tony Heffernan to block the board’s efforts to appoint an external company to
carry out a review of certain fundraising events and a governance review. Mr Heffernan
has rejected these claims.

However the regulator wrote back saying she considered the issue an internal matter
and that she would not therefore launch an investigation.

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Mr Hall said he and three other directors who resigned from the charity felt abandoned
by the regulator and would report their concerns to the Irish police.

The regulator responded to a separate complaint about a major fundraising drive 
on behalf of the Foundation, saying the authority “is not currently resourced to
undertake investigations” because the relevant legislation has not been commenced,”
the Irish Examiner reported.

One specific complaint to the regulator concerned fundraising for an ambulance which
allegedly had not been purchased or ordered seven months after the fundraising event
with differing figures provided for the amount raised.

[The Saoirse Foundation](https://www.saoirsefoundation.com/) was set up by the Heffernan
family to help those affected by Batten Disease.

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