The Charities Regulator took the “unprecedented step” of issuing a “final warning” to Scouting Ireland to provide it with requested information in September 2023, warning that it could remove the youth organisation from the register of charities if it did not comply with the direction.
The regulator said on Wednesday it had appointed inspectors “to investigate the affairs” of Scouting Ireland and a number of other organisations related to the youth body.
The regulator, which has been engaging with Scouting Ireland since 2023 following concerns raised with it regarding “governance matters”, said that the purpose of the statutory investigation is “to establish the facts relating to the control and ownership of charitable assets” and to “clarify” the relationship between Scouting Ireland and the related organisations.
The related bodies in question are Scouting Ireland CSI and Scouting Ireland SAI (formerly the Catholic Boy Scouts of Ireland and Scout Association of Ireland respectively, two organisations that merged to form Scouting Ireland in 2004), Scouting Ireland Unincorporated Association (an organisation that came into being in 2004), and trust charities the Scout Foundation, the Scouting Association of Ireland Trust Corporation and Scouting Trust Property.
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According to a correspondence, Tom Mulholland, director of compliance and enforcement at the Charities Regulator, issued a direction to the board of Scouting Ireland in September 2023 seeking various documents and information, including minutes from board meetings, financial reports, and reasoning for delays in preparing annual financial statements. The direction was issued after a previous request for information was not fulfilled.
The direction was “largely complied with” on December 14th, 2023, several weeks after the extended deadline of November 21st set by the Charities Regulator, according to a letter written by Mr Mulholland to Scouting Ireland’s board.
“This was after the Charities Regulator had taken the unprecedented step of issuing a final warning that the Charity would be removed from the Register of Charities ... for failing to comply with the direction,” Mr Mulholland wrote in his December 2023 letter. He noted that some requested information was not provided by the board.
In an email sent to its members on Tuesday the board of Scouting Ireland said that the investigators’ aim will be “to establish the facts surrounding the status” of Scouting Ireland CSI, Scouting Ireland SAI and Scouting Ireland Unincorporated Association.
The board also said the regulator is seeking to establish “the beneficial and legal ownership” of properties “owned and occupied” by various scouting organisations in Ireland, and to establish who controls the bank accounts “held for the benefit of various Scout Provinces and Scout Groups”.
The inspectors will also seek to “ascertain the facts underlying the delay in preparing financial statements for two consecutive financial periods”, the board said.
Recent years have seen the youth organisation face a number of governance and safeguarding controversies which culminated in revelations of a major historical child sexual abuse scandal.
A report published in 2020, carried out by child protection consultant Ian Elliot, found that abuse was covered up within the youth organisation.
Fresh divisions emerged in 2023 when two then-board directors, Donnchadha Reynolds and Jacques Kinane, made allegations of child-protection shortcomings within the organisation.
In a public notice issued on Wednesday the Charities Regulator said that it has been engaging with Scouting Ireland since 2023 “arising from concerns that were raised with the regulator regarding governance matters”.
“It has sought to clarify the relationship between the various organisations listed and confirm the control and ownership of charitable assets. Following engagement with the charity and the related organisations the Charities Regulator has decided to use its powers to undertake a statutory investigation to clarify matters,” the notice reads.
The regulator will prepare a report on the findings of the investigation.
In response to queries regarding the investigation, Scouting Ireland said it was a “welcome opportunity to bring clarity to the legal structures relating to scouting in Ireland”.
“The Charities Regulator is best placed to advise as to their reasons for this inspection, however the focus of the inspectors’ work as outlined by the CRA (Charities Regulatory Authority) relates primarily to the relationship between Scouting Ireland CLG and various legal entities within scouting,” a spokeswoman said. “We have been liaising with the regulator over the last number of months and we look forward to continuing that engagement and co-operating fully with its inspectors.”
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