Madam, - Patrick Hennessy's letter of February 16th and the earlier article by Bill Murdoch (Business This Week, February 11th) stressed the importance and urgency of updating our legislation on regulating charities.
The large sums of money donated by the public during the tsunami crisis highlight the need for a proper legislative base in this area.
Concern has been a long-standing advocate of such legislation. We have provided leadership from within the charity sector and have worked with the Department of Rural, Community and Gaelteacht Affairs to prepare the ground for legislation.
The current intention is that draft legislation will be presented to the Oireachtas by the end of the year. But successive governments have promised such legislation before and have not delivered. Other political or legislative priorities have always intervened.
It is vitally important that this does not happen again. The sector has now reached a scale where the public expects the highest standards of accountability underpinned by a modern and effective charity law. I call on the Government and Opposition parties to co-operate in making sure that 2005 is the year to put such a law on the statute books. - Yours, etc.,
TOM ARNOLD, Chief Executive, Concern Worldwide, Camden Street, Dublin 2.