“The enactment this week of the charities bill is an important event for the charity sector in Ireland”, noted Drogheda East Fianna Fáil County Council candidate James Carroll.

The Charities Act provides for a new Charities Regulatory Authority and a ‘Register of Charities’ upon which any charity operating in Ireland must be entered, and which will be available to the public.

“Charities will have to keep proper books of account, and provide information to the new Authority on their charitable activities, which will also be made available to the general public. This will enable people to verify the charitable bona fides of organisations that call on their support. It will herald in a new era of transparency and accountability for charities,” added James Carroll.

“The charities sector is held in the highest esteem by the people of Ireland, and rightly so. Yet, the absence of regulation leaves the sector as a whole potentially open to abuse, including by organisations who may make themselves out to the public to be charitable in nature, yet are actually profit based”, he said.

“Proper regulation will enhance public confidence in genuine charities, and strengthen the sector as a result, however there is a considerable body of work yet to be done before the new regulatory regime can come into force on the ground” concluded James Carroll, the new young local candidate for this June’s elections.

ENDS