Charities Act 2009

After a long time and many redrafts Charities Act 2009 was enacted on 28 February 2009 and represents a very significant milestone for community and voluntary activity in Ireland.

The purpose of the Charities Act 2009 is to reform the law relating to charities in order to ensure greater accountability and to protect against abuse of charitable status and fraud to enhance public trust and confidence in charities and increase transparency in the charity sector.

The Act will not come into effect immediately – it will be commenced in stages and is regarded as another step on the road to full regulation. The government view is that there is a considerable body of work yet to be done before the new regulatory regime can come into force.

Key aspects of the Act will provide for:

• a definition of charitable purposes for the first time in primary legislation (see below);
• the creation of a new Charities Regulatory Authority to secure compliance by charities with their legal obligations and also to encourage better administration of charities;
• a Register of Charities in which all charities operating in the State must register;
• the submission of annual activity reports by charities to the new Authority;
• updating the law relating to fund-raising, particularly in relation to collections by way of direct debits and similar non-cash methods;
• the creation of a Charity Appeals Tribunal; and
• the provision of consultative panels to assist the Authority in its work and to ensure effective consultation with stakeholders.

 View our factsheet for more detail on the Act

Charitable purpose
A purpose is charitable if it is of public benefit and it its aim is:

• the prevention or relief of poverty or economic hardship;
• the advancement of education;
• the advancement of religion: or
• any other prupose that is of benefit to the commumity.

The Act gives examples of what constitutes a purpose that is of benefit to the community such as:

1. advancement of community welfare - including the relief of those in need by reason of youth, age, ill-health or disability;
2. the protection of the natural environment;
3. the advancement of environmental sustainability
4. the advancement of the arts, culture, heritage or sciences; and
5. the integration of those who are disadvantaged, and the promotion of their full participation in society.