Taoiseach Enda Kenny has said there will be "a much safer and a more justifiable, accountable and transparent system" in the charities sector.

“It will be the case that everyone who donates to the charity of their choice can be comfortable in the knowledge that the accounts will be audited and published and the charities’ regulator will have endorsed charity X or Y as measuring up to the criteria set out in the Charities Act 2009,” he added.

Mr Kenny said the Government wanted a system in which all charities were treated the same and that they were transparent, accountable and that the public could be comfortable in that the money they gave from their hard-earned pay was going towards what they had intended.

Interim regulator
He said an interim regulator would be in place by Easter and a regulatory board established soon after. The Health Service Executive was examining agencies.

“There are many charities that are well run and can put absolutely everything out in front of people,” Mr Kenny added.

“That is the way it should be for them all.”

He said that since the Coalition came into office “many of the political and financial carpets we have lifted have been infested with maggots” and the Government was in the business of clearing up a legacy of untold proportions.

Mr Kenny was replying to Sinn Féin leader Gerry Adams, who said there was a lack of regulation in the sector.

"We know this lack of regulation across many sectors has been at the core of the toxic culture in this State for a long time," said Mr Adams.

Mr Kenny said he had paid a private visit to the Central Remedial Clinic last week and many of the young professionals working there were distraught at the nauseating spectacle unfolding.