New charity regime expected to become law

CHARITIES ARE finalising preparations for a tough new charity regulatory regime expected to become law before the end of this year.

Thirty charities came together in Dublin yesterday for the first of a series of information and training events to help them comply with the new Charities Act.

Hundreds of other charities will attend other events in Dublin and around the country over the coming weeks.

Deirdre Garvey, CEO of The Wheel, an umbrella organisation for the charity sector with 800 members, said it had organised the events so charities would be well prepared when the new law was enacted. She said The Wheel had actively lobbied for effective regulation of charities and welcomed the legislation, although it was still seeking inclusion of a definition of human rights in the Act.

Ms Garvey said The Wheel’s aim was to have charities run according to “best practice”.

Members of the boards of charities must be volunteers but they must also have considerable responsibilities in the areas of finance, health and safety, staff management and other areas, she said.

The Charities Act provides for the setting up of the Charities Regulatory Authority (CRA) which will register and regulate charities.

All new and existing charities will have to apply for registration to the authority and it will be an offence to operate as a charity otherwise. The exclusion from registration of organisations promoting a political “cause” has caused some concern as charitable organisations supporting human rights or promoting the rights of ethnic or sexual minorities could be regarded as promoting a political cause.

Organisations which are refused charitable status will have a right to appeal to the Charity Appeals Tribunal and also to the High Court. A charity and its trustees will also be liable for any offence committed by the charity under the Act.