THE DÁIL IS to debate a Sinn Fein bill next week that would see the Charities Regulatory Authority up and running by May of this year.
This follows a statement from Minister Alan Shatter yesterday who said that he intends that the board of the Charities Regulatory Authority will be in place before Easter.
Sinn Féin has published a bill which it says if supported by Labour and Fine Gael would see the Charities Regulatory Authority up and running by May 2014. The Dáil will debate the Charities (Amendment) Bill 2014 in the Dáil next week.
Deputy Leader and Dublin Central TD Mary Lou McDonald said that the latest revelations arising from the Public Accounts Committee investigations into the Central Remedial Clinics top-up salary and pensions payments for board members “are scandalous”.
“Not only must these people be held to account they must also feel the full rigour of the law,” she commented.
She described the government as having “dragged its heels on rigorous regulation of the sector whilst charities themselves have been calling for the establishment of the authority for years now”.
CRC’s former chiefs have cast a shadow over the important work of the organisation and the work of great charities providing critical services and supports to families in a time of real need. Establishing a fully resourced Charities Regulatory Authority in now critical and the sooner it is up and running the better.
Yesterday’s announcement from Minister Shatter was welcomed by a number of charities, including Concern, and Fundraising Ireland.
However, Boardmatch – the national corporate governance charity of Ireland – said it “broadly” welcomed the announcement, but is “cautious about the impact in the short term of the establishment of the Charity Authority”.
Meanwhile, the Daily Mail carries an interview with CRC chairman Hamilton Goulding today, where he says he tried to cut the salary of former chief executive Paul Kiely “for years”.
He said that paying off Kiely early saved the CRC €1.4m.
Hamilton also said that it would be a “good gesture” if Kiely handed back some of the money, but “that is a decision for him”.
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