Sweeping changes in the way charities are regulated are recommended in a major new report from the Law Society.
Charitable organisations would have to register with a new independent State-funded watchdog, the Charities Office, under the proposals made yesterday by the society's law reform committee.
Only small charities with a turnover under €2,000 would be exempted from registration.
They would also have to file annual accounts, which would be publicly available on the internet. The Charities Office would be empowered to investigate cases of suspected fraud or misconduct.
The Minister for Community, Rural and Gaeltacht Affairs, Mr Ó Cuív, welcomed the report and promised to examine it in detail in the context of the Government's commitment to a "comprehensive reform" of charity regulation.
Mr Ó Cuív's department assumed responsibility for the area from the Department of Social, Community and Family Affairs a month ago.
Previous reports published in 1990 and 1996 made similar calls for greater regulation of charities and the established charities overwhelmingly support reform. However, no action has been taken in spite of intermittent controversies over mismanagement and fraud in some charities in recent years.
The Law Society's report, "Charity Law: The Case For Reform", envisages stringent controls on public fundraising.
It calls for the setting up of a national database showing the calendar of collection permits granted throughout the State.
The allocation of permits to individual charities would be adjusted to give each organisation a fair opportunity to collect, and to prevent an excess of collections in particular areas.
Charity shops should be required to state clearly what proportion of the goods they sell is going to charity.
Likewise, professional fundraisers would have to tell potential donors what proportion of their donations would be used to pay the costs of the fundraiser.
The report says new legislation is called for to regulate street trading by charities, such as the collection of promises for money (such as standing orders) and the sale of tokens (such as happy hearts or daffodil pins).
The report believes our definition of charity needs to be modernised and expanded to include concepts such as social inclusion and community welfare as well as the relief of poverty.
It says the absolute prohibition on charities carrying out political advocacy should be reviewed. However, it says direct support for a political party or candidate should remain outside the realm of charity.
While sport per se should not be considered charitable, recreation pursued for health or fitness reasons should be deemed charitable.
It says the Charities Office would operate in a manner similar to the Companies Registration Office, with powers to refuse registration, to carry out random audits and inspections, and to pursue organisations who fail to comply with its requirements. It would take over responsibility from the Garda for the granting of permits and licences for fundraising.
Abuses would be referred to the Circuit Court, which could result in a person being held in contempt of court. In cases of mismanagement or fraud, the High Court could be asked to remove a trustee.
It says excessive payment by charities to their staff should be explicitly included in the definition of misconduct and mismanagement. Screening for child abuse offences is recommended before a person could be appointed as trustee of a charity dealing with children and adolescents.
