There should be a minimum of three trustees on a charitable trust, according to the Law Reform Commission (LRC).
This is one of a number of proposals the commission has made in a consultation paper on charitable trusts. The principal legislation governing such trusts goes back to 1893.
The Department of Community, Rural and Gaeltacht Affairs published a consultation paper on charities in December 2003, followed by a report on its own public consultation process last September. The LRC's consultation paper deals with governance issues, and is in response to a request from the Department as part of drawing up new law in this area.
The consultation paper, therefore, deals with the role, duty of care, responsibilities and other duties of trustees, and their administrative powers.
The LRC recommends that qualifying criteria for the appointment of charity trustees be laid down by law.
Such guidelines should include the trustee not being a minor or a ward of court; bankrupt; barred from company directorship; convicted of an indictable offence; sentenced to prison or having been removed as a trustee of another charity by the Register of Charities or the courts.
The commission also recommends a role for the Register of Charities in the replacement of trustees or the appointment of additional ones. It is seeking additional views on this role.
It considers that the Register of Charities should have power to remove charity trustees from office, but this should be subject to an appeals procedure. This would arise if the trustee had become incapable of acting or had been responsible for, or privy to, misconduct or mismanagement.
The Register of Charities should also have the power to ban people from acting as charity trustees, if they had previously been found incapable or involved in misconduct.
The commission recommends that legislation allowing for the remuneration of trustees be introduced. It said that the legislation should also set out clearly a statutory duty of care for charity trustees.
This would spell out the need to act in the interests of the charity, to seek to ensure that the charity acts in accordance with its purpose, and to act with the care and diligence expected of a person managing the affairs of another person.
The courts should be given discretion to excuse trustees of liability where they have acted honestly, reasonably and in good faith, according to the LRC. It is now seeking submissions before April 5th before publishing its final report on the subject.