Dáil Éireann debate -
Wednesday, 27 Apr 1994

Vol. 442 No. 1

Written Answers. - Commissioner of Charitable Donations and Bequests.

Ivan Yates

Question:

55 Mr. Yates asked the Minister for Justice the steps that have been taken to deal with the findings in the 1992 report of the Comptroller and Auditor General which suggested that central controlling and monitoring roles relating to charitable organisations were not being adequately performed by the charitable donations and bequests office.

Minister for Justice (Mrs. Geoghegan-Quinn)

The Commissioners of Charitable Donations and Bequests do not have a general monitoring, enforcement or controlling role in regard to charities or charitable organisations, as implied by the Deputy. Their role is to make decisions in relation to the exercise of very specific statutory powers conferred on them by the Charities Acts.

The jurisdiction of the Commissioners of Charitable Donations and Bequests as conferred by the provisions of the Charities Acts, 1961 and 1973, is set out, as it affects a charitable devise or bequest, in section 16 of the Charities Act, 1973. The exercise of the provisions of section 16 by the commissioners is discretionary. In order that the Commissioners be provided with the information necessary for the performance of the foregoing function, returns of every charitable devise or bequest are required to be submitted by the Probate Officer to the Commissioners, pursuant to section 58 of the 1961 Act. The 1992 report of the Comptroller and Auditor General focused on this aspect of the role of the Charities Office, in his report on "Charities".

A new system for the examination of charitable bequests was set up on 1 July 1993. Under the new system, solicitors applying for a grant of probate of any will containing a charitable legacy lodge a simple summary form with the Probate Office supplying details of all charitable bequests. These forms are transmitted to the Charities Office each month for checking. A member of staff to operate the necessary checking procedures was assigned to that office on 27 September 1993 and it is intended that an additional member of staff will also be assigned shortly.