Should your group register as a charity?

The Charities Act 2009 and the creation of the Charities Regulator have radically reformed the charity law landscape. The key functions of the Charities Regulator are to establish and maintain a public register of charitable organisations operating in Ireland and ensure their compliance with the Charities Acts.

There is no one set structure for charities. A ‘charitable organisation’ may be:

a charitable trust, a body corporate, or an unincorporated body of persons.

Should your group register as a charity?

If the answer to all three of the following questions is 'yes', then your organisation should apply for registration as a charity:

1. Does your organisation wish to operate in the Republic of Ireland?

2. Does your organisation have exclusively charitable purposes?

3. Does your organisation provide a clear public benefit, in this country or elsewhere?

Offences committed under the Charities Act 2009.

There are severe penalties which may apply if there is an offence committed under the Charities Act 2009.

Offences include advertising on behalf of an unregistered charitable organisation, inviting donations to an unregistered charitable organisation, accepting gifts on behalf of a charitable organisation, or representing that an organisation which is not registered as a charity is registered as a charitable organisation. Charity trustees may also be liable where an offence has been committed by a charitable organisation.

Other offences include not keeping proper books of account or making false statements to the Charities Regulator. 

Upon summary conviction a person becomes liable to a fine not exceeding €5,000 or a term of imprisonment not exceeding 12 months, or both. Upon conviction on indictment, a person becomes liable to a fine not exceeding €300,000 or to a term of imprisonment not exceeding 10 years or both.

Where the offence is committed by a body corporate and is proved to have been committed with the consent or connivance of or to be attributable to any neglect on the part of any person, being a director, manager, secretary or other officer of the body corporate, or a person who was purporting to act in such capacity, that person shall, as well as the body corporate, be guilty of an offence and shall be liable to be proceeded against and punished as if he or she were guilty of the offence concerned.

Over the next few weeks we will publish information and links to help you apply to be recognised as a charity.