High standards of corporate governance should apply in the charities sector as in any other. Government policy in this area aims to support and encourage best practice. An aspect of particular importance is charity fundraising. To support best practice in this regard, my Department is currently providing grant funding to a project managed by umbrella charities organisation Irish Charities Tax Research Limited. This project involves the promotion of a voluntary code of practice for charity fundraising. All charities that engage in fundraising from the public are encouraged to sign up to and adhere to this code, the core principles of which are respect, honesty and openness. For the sake of clarity, I can add that this code, with its specific focus on fundraising, is not a general governance code for the community and voluntary sector.
Regarding the issue of transparency in the financial governance of charities, it is important to acknowledge that many charitable organisations do operate to high levels of transparency with respect to their finances. There is much good practice in the sector. It needs to be supported where it exists and spread to areas where it is less evident. The Deputy will recall that one of the purposes of the Charities Act of 2009 is to increase transparency in the charities sector. The further implementation of this Act, including the establishment of an independent Charities Regulatory Authority, has been delayed for budgetary reasons, in light of likely costs associated with the establishment of the Authority. As I have emphasised on previous occasions to this House and elsewhere, the decision to defer the full implementation of the Charities Act was taken for budgetary reasons. It remains the intention of Government to advance the fundamental objectives of the Charities Act, including with respect to increasing transparency in the sector. My Department is examining how best to progress the implementation of the Act in the current circumstances. I intend to consult on proposals for this in the coming months.
Under the Charities Act, charities will be required to provide annual reports and accounts to the Charities Regulatory Authority, which will in turn be required to make these available to the public. This will greatly enhance the transparency of the sector and in doing so will foster greater accountability and protection against abuse of charitable status and fraud. Notwithstanding this, it should also be recalled that the Charities Act is not prescriptive in matters such as the remuneration of the employees of charitable organisations, which continue to be a matter for individual charities, within the relevant statutory frameworks. As part of the forthcoming consultation on the implementation of the Charities Act, I will also be inviting views on the appropriate levels of financial and activity reporting by charities, bearing in mind the overall objectives of the Act.
In the mean time, I would like to remind the House that there is in existence a broad range of regulatory oversight measures that can apply to charities. Many charities are already subject to scrutiny by various State Bodies. As the Deputy has pointed out, many charities receive significant levels of Government funding through grants, contracts for service delivery, and so on. In relation to how they use and account for these public funds, these charities are subject to the oversight of the relevant grant-making or contracting Departments and Agencies, and, where appropriate, of the Office of the Comptroller and Auditor General. The Revenue Commissioners have granted charitable tax exemptions to almost 8,000 charities and have significant powers to ensure that such charities comply with tax law. Many charities are incorporated and, as such, are subject to the provisions of company law and required to provide certain information to the Companies Registration Office under the Companies Acts. This information can then be accessed by the public. Such charities would also potentially be subject to scrutiny by the Office of the Director of Corporate Enforcement. Charities that take the form of a trust are subject to the provisions of trust law. And, of course, any business entity is subject to general criminal and fraud legislation.
