This Bill sets out to solve a problem. It will be generally accepted that the custom which has grown up in our society whereby organisations of one kind or another are permitted to go to the public and seek funds by subscriptions for their objects is a desirable one. On the other hand, we have a duty to ensure that the general public are not excessively importuned and are not subjected to any excessive degree of nuisance in this regard and that, within reason, the public are protected against the abuse of fraudulent collections. The Bill attempts to reconcile these two conflicting factors and to keep a reasonable balance between them. It provides for the regulation of collections of money from the public by way of what are commonly called flag days, by way of house to house visits and by way of boxes left in public places, such as shops, licensed premises, hotels, etc.
At present street collections are subject to control under Regulations made in 1930 by the Commissioner of the Garda Síochána pursuant to section 5 of the Police, Factories, etc. (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act, 1916. These Regulations provide for the granting of collection permits by the Gardaí and for the prevention of inconvenience to the public but they do not empower the Gardaí to refuse permission to collect even to the most unsuitable persons. Furthermore, the regulations apply only to street collections. The present Bill is designed to remedy the defects in the existing law by providing a modern comprehensive enactment to regulate all collections from the public, including house to house collections, and to enable the holding of such collections to be prohibited in specified circumstances.
"Collection" is defined in Section 1 of the Bill so as to exclude street trading, ordinary trade or business, collecting in accordance with a licence or permit under the Gaming and Lotteries Act (which covers collections for non-stop draws, pools, etc.) and begging. Accordingly, the Bill does not apply to these types of collecting. Furthermore, it will not apply to house to house collections unless and until an Order is made by the Minister for Justice under Section 2 extending the proposed Act to such collections. I am satisfied that while house to house collections at the present time may occasionally be a source of annoyance to some householders, they do not constitute a widespread nuisance. Generally, the public is not being excessively importuned by them; and I do not see any necessity for the making of an Order under Section 2 in present circumstances. At the same time I think it is desirable that the Minister for Justice should have the power to regulate such collections if this becomes necessary in the public interest. Senators will observe that an Order under Section 2 may apply the provisions of the Act to house to house collections generally, that is to say, throughout the country, or merely to such collections in a particular district or area. Moreover, an Order may exempt specific house to house collections or classes of such collections from control. If it ever becomes necessary to apply the Act to house to house collections, I envisage that collections made for religious and other obviously legitimate purposes would be so exempted.
Section 3 of the Bill prohibits the holding of any collection in respect of which a collection permit has not been granted by the Chief Superintendent of the Garda Síochána for the locality in which the collection is to be held. Section 5 provides that applications for permits will have to be made in writing in the prescribed form and be accompained by the prescribed particulars. Generally speaking applications will have to be made not more than six months and not less than fourteen days before the collection is due to commence.
Section 6, which deals with the grant of permits, proposes that where there is a clash of applications to hold collections on the same day and in the same locality, and where only one permit is to be granted, priority will be given to the object in respect of which a collection was held on the corresponding day in the previous year. This is designed to protect the interests of what, for convenience, may be called the old established charities, which have been collecting in this way for many years.
A Chief Superintendent will be obliged to grant every permit applied for unless in his opinion such grounds for refusal exist as are specified in Sections 9, 10, 11 or 12 of the Bill. Where the Chief Superintendent is of opinion than any of these grounds exists he will be obliged to refuse to grant a permit.
In addition to refusing a permit, a Chief Superintendent may attach conditions to a permit, and he may also revoke a permit. However, where a person is aggrieved by the Chief Superintendent's decision, provision is made in Section 14 for an appeal to the district court, and the court is given power to direct the Chief Superintendent to grant a permit with or without conditions attached to it. The court may also amend or delete conditions attached to a permit by the Chief Superintendent.
The Bill, in Section 15, makes it an offence for a person to act as a collector unless he is in possession of a written authorisation from the holder of a collection permit. The issue of such authorisations to collectors under the age of fourteen is prohibited in Section 16. The minimum age of collectors under the existing law is sixteen years, but on the whole I consider that fourteen is an appropriate and reasonable compromise between the conflicting interests involved.
Section 19 provides for the marking on collection boxes of the object for which the collection is being held.
The keeping of full and proper accounts of the amounts collected is dealt with in Section 24. Specific powers of entry and arrest and specific powers to seize money and collection boxes in certain circumstances are given to the Gardaí in Sections 21 and 25. The Bill makes it an offence for the owners of certain public places to allow unauthorised collections to be held therein. The penalties for offences under any of the provisions of the Bill are set out in Section 26. They are a fine not exceeding £50 or imprisonment for a term not exceeding six months or both such fine and such imprisonment.
I am satisfied that the proposed powers and the penalties are no more than adequate to ensure compliance with the law. Senators will appreciate the difficulty which might arise in enforcing the proposed Act if organisers of unauthorised collections choose to ignore the law. It is for this reason that the Bill includes the additional deterrent in Section 21, namely, the power given to the Gardaí to seize money and collection boxes in the case of an unauthorised collection.
When the Bill was before the Dáil I indicated that, since the measure had no political implications, I would welcome suggestions from all sides as to the best way of implementing the general purpose of the Bill. It is in the same spirit that I present the Bill to this House. I think that it represents a reasonable and sensible approach to the problem but I shall carefully examine any suggestions for its improvement.
