Some 5,600 organisations have charitable exemption under the Tax Acts, according to a list just published by the Revenue Commissioners.
Bodies which are on the list must be devoted to relief of poverty, advancement of education, advancement of religion or of benefit to the community.
The Commissioners say some of the charities on the list may have ceased operation as the exemption has applied since the foundation of the State. A programme is in place to find out which charities are still active, the Commissioners say. The grant of an exemption is also "subject to ongoing review".
The 1990 Costello report found that three-quarters of charities have an annual income of less than £50,000: the Revenue Commissioners say their current records "would indicate that this is still the general picture" and that many of them are "local organisations operated on a voluntary basis". However, the Commissioners say that not all charities are included on the list, as not every charitable body has taxable income.
The Commissioners say reports that they offered charities the opportunity to opt out of the list are not true. In all, 20 charities raised objections to the disclosure of their names after the Commissioners wrote to them under the terms of the Freedom of Information Act.
A further 107 charities agreed to disclosure but asked that certain concerns be met. The Revenue Commissioners say the Information Commissioner will decide on these cases and they have "no cause for concern about the charitable bona fides of any of these bodies".
Some of the lesser-known bodies on the list include the Queen Victoria Memorial Fund, the Dublin University Mission to Chota Magpur, the Galway Memorial Fund for the Protestant Poor of Rostrevor, the Leinster Quarterly Meeting Apprenticing Fund and the Irish Association of Change Ringers.
There are a number of charities on the list associated with the National Gallery of Ireland.
The Economic and Social Research Institute, the Farm Apprenticeship Board, Life - Save the Unborn Child Ireland, Human Life International Ireland, the National Parents Council and the Dublin Homeopathic Dispensary are also granted charitable status.
