23rd Janaury 2014
By Bryan T. Smyth
bryan@TheCork.ie
Cork Senator, Deirdre Clune, has welcomed confirmation that an interim
charities regulator will be installed by the end of next month.
Along with many others,
“I was shocked by the recent revelations about certain charitable
organisations, which have justifiably damaged public trust and
confidence in that sector. As such, I strongly welcome the fact that
an interim charities regulator will be in place by the end of
February.
The initiation of the key measures in the Charities Act will provide
the increased transparency and accountability that will allow damaged
trust to be rebuilt.
An initial priority for the new Authority will be the creation and
publication of a statutory register of charities. It will then be
compulsory for all registered charities to provide reports to the
Authority each year on their activities. These reports will
subsequently be made available to the public.
I believe this is a timely and necessary measure which will provide
increased transparency and accountability in the charitable sector
supporting good practice in charity governance and management .
It is imperative that in the future, charities earn the trust and
confidence of beneficiaries and donors alike and this measure will
greatly facilitate that.”