Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 15 January 2019
1002. Deputy Fiona O'Loughlin asked the Minister for Rural and Community Development if the way in which the Charities Regulator communicates with the public will be reviewed in 2019; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [54189/18]
Amharc ar fhreagra1003. Deputy Fiona O'Loughlin asked the Minister for Rural and Community Development if transparency within the office of the Charities Regulator has been reviewed; if a review will be carried out in 2019; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [54190/18]
Amharc ar fhreagraI propose to take Questions Nos. 1002 and 1003 together.
My Department has overall policy responsibility for the Charities Regulator. However, the Authority is fully independent in the performance of its statutory functions. Neither I nor my Department have any role in the decision making process of the Authority. My Department receives regular updates from the Charities Regulator on key performance indicators, under the terms of an oversight agreement.
I understand that the Charities Regulator undertakes extensive activities to engage and communicate with its stakeholders, which include charities and the public. During 2018 its website had 118,000 visitors who viewed almost 690,000 pages. It issued 35 press releases, published a number of inspectors’ reports it commissioned into two charities, and launched of the Charities Governance Code.
In addition to this, the Charities Regulator communicates with the public through its social media platforms, with significant increases in the number of followers over the last 12 months. In 2018 it also commenced publishing an electronic newsletter which was issued four times during the year to approximately 20,000 people for each edition.
It organised a series of public meetings around the country during the year to address questions from charities and members of the public. In addition, it targeted charity trustees during Charity Trustees Week in November, with public meetings and a national advertising campaign.
During 2018 it produced and publicised four new guidance documents to assist charities in complying with their obligations under the Charities Act 2009. It also published a report it commissioned from Indecon into the social and economic impact of registered Irish charities.
The Charities Regulator also produces an annual report which provides detailed accounts of the work undertaken by the Regulator. This is placed in the Oireachtas library and is published on the Regulator’s website.
However, there are elements of its work which the Charities Regulator does not comment publicly on, as to do so could undermine its ability to perform its functions. These areas include the on-going work of its compliance team and the work of the Charity Services Committee and the cases that are before it. It should be noted, however, that in August 2018, the Charities Regulator published a report on its compliance work for 2017, which included metrics of key compliance actions undertaken and an analysis of the common issues which emerged during the year.
