"In general, annual reports and accounts submitted to the [Charities Regulatory Authority] will be made available for inspection by the public, " said junior minister in the Department of Community, Arts and the Gaeltacht Pat Carey during the bill's second stage in the Dail last week. "This will allow potential supporters of charitable causes the opportunity to make informed choices as regards their donations."

While many charities produce accounts, they are not currently obliged to reveal how much they get from collections, how much they spend on salaries and administration, and what is spent on direct aid. And although there are over 2,000 charities listed by the Revenue Commissioners as eligible for tax relief, and more than 19,000 community and voluntary groups, they operate with minimal checks and regulations.

A few incidents of fraud, and the arrival in Ireland of foreign charities, some of which are under suspicion of being connected to international terrorist organisations, have raised fears. The new charities legislation is designed to allay those fears and protect against abuse and fraud.

All charities are backing the new legislation but some have reservations about certain aspects of it, including Action Aid, which feels that human rights should be included as a "charitable purpose" under the act.

Welcoming the new legislation in the Dail last week, Fine Gael's Michael Ring said Irish people "do not like to be ripped off by people collecting money for charity who put it in their back pocket". This bill would take care of that, he added.

In addition to transparency, the new bill will revamp the 1962 Street Collections Act under which people collecting cash on the street must have a permit. Drafted more than 40 years ago, this act could never have envisaged today's noncash street collections, where so-called 'chuggers' ask people on the street to sign monthly direct debits. Under the new legislation, these 'chuggers' will now require a permit for the first time, Carey said. Where cash is still collected, "collection boxes will now have to be sealed and clearly marked to show the object to benefit from the collection", he added.

Also, in a bid to tackle the number of suspicious foreign charities operating here, and to boost confidence in bonafide organisations, all charities operating in this country will now, for the first time, have to be registered and it will be an offence to operate in Ireland if not registered.

The new regulatory authority will also have the teeth to investigate and prosecute any charity it feels is sidestepping the regulations. Carey has warned he plans to introduce amendments at the committee stage of what is a complex piece of legislation and Michael Ring said he also plans to table amendments.

'We welcome the introduction of publicly available annual accounts' MANY Irish charities have differing accounting practices and differing interpretations as to what constitutes costs, including what are administration costs and what is spent directly on charitable pursuits So when comparing how much of their income each charity spends on operational expenditure and/or administration costs, some caution must be exercised with the figures below.

For example, it is clear from these figures that the charity Goal . . . with income of /58.6m and expenditure of /62.2m . . . has interpreted operational expenditure as all the money it spends on its charitable works, rather than the administrative costs of running the charity.

When surveyed by the Sunday Tribune, all charities welcomed the introduction of publicly available annual accounts. "We see this as an effective way to demonstrate to all supporters the financial stewardship of their support, " said Focus Ireland.

Others alluded to the importance of consistency. "The public should be able to check if their donations are going to a reputable organisation that is using their money effectively, and this legislation and the regulatory framework will enable them to do this, " said Stephanie Casey of Oxfam Ireland. "We also welcome the fact that agreed standards will be put in place for financial reporting that will ensure consistency across all not-for-profit organisations."