Proportionate Regulation and Streamlined Compliance

People working in the community and voluntary sector understand the importance of transparency in their work; many worked for years to encourage the establishment of Ireland’s Charities Regulator. The sector as a whole welcomes regulation, and community and voluntary organisations work tirelessly to attain the highest standards of governance.  However, some processes have become excessively bureaucratic, repetitive, and detailed.

While staffing and resources for regulatory bodies continues to expand, sector organisations require increased resourcing and training to keep pace. The sector is diverse and not only provides services but also ensures, through advocacy in the human rights field, that regulation is enabling progress for groups who are particularly at risk and often marginalised.

Many of our members who are registered charities are deeply engaged in advocacy activities for the communities they support. It is essential that regulation also supports these activities. In our Members’ Regulation Survey ,complexity of compliance and time spent on this rank among the top member concerns. Members also emphasised the cost of regulation and compliance as a challenge that particularly affects smaller organisations. We recommend that Government

• include the cost of compliance into all new State funding contracts

• review and streamline compliance and regulatory requirements to ensure that regulation in all its forms helps, and doesn’t over-burden, sector organisations.