The Charities Regulator, headed by solicitor Helen Martin, had its busiest year so far in 2019, when the number of registered charities passed the 10,000 mark.

The regulator’s main functions are to maintain the public register of charitable organisations operating in Ireland and to ensure their compliance with the Charities Acts.

Concerns

Its annual report said that although the number of concerns raised about the sector fell from 2018, a significant number related to bogus clothes collections.

In response, the body launched a national radio campaign in November urging members of the public to check the Register of Charities before donating.

COVID-19 impact

Chief executive Helen Martin said the regulator would monitor the impact of COVID-19 on the sector, and provide information and guidance to charities in this “very difficult period”.

She told RTÉ radio this morning that charities had been hit hard by a loss of fund-raising revenue during the pandemic, and most cannot see how they can raise funds at the moment.

In May, the government announced the establishment of a €40m package to help the sector cope with the pandemic disruption.

Code

During 2019, the regulator began work to support the implementation of the Charities Governance Code, which sets the minimum standards of governance for charities. The code is a tool for charity trustees to ensure the effective management and control of their charities.

The regulator developed a toolkit, which included guidance documents and templates, to help charity trustees to implement the new measures.

The body also has enforcement powers, and last year inspectors carried out a report on Galway University Foundation, following concerns about expenses and preliminary inquiries made by the regulator. The report was published in December.

Income

The report showed that there were 10,514 charities on the public Register of Charities by the end of 2019, an increase of 7% on 2018.

There were 67,129 charity trustees on the register, an increase of 10% on the previous year. Charity trustees include committee members and company directors and are the people who ultimately exercise control over, and are legally responsible for, a charity.

Some 44% of charities were incorporated companies, while 50% were unincorporated and 6% were charitable trusts.

Just over half of charities had income of more than €100,000. According to the report, 875 reported an income of more than €1 million.