Madam, - Thanks for an excellent article from Bill Murdoch (February 11th) underlining the need to introduce legislation providing adequate control over charities in Ireland.
Timely indeed in the light of the overwhelming tsunami contributions.
Every Irish citizen has a right to know that their hard-earned contributions to one or other of the Irish charities have been judiciously and effectively spent.
I recall in Khartoum in 1988 the head of one charity in Sudan admitting that she was unable to find an audited account detailing where and how the charity had spent its budget worldwide in any of the previous three years.
When the Department of Foreign Affairs sought Irish charities in the 1990s through which it could reliably channel Irish overseas development aid, it was confronted with the same challenge - which Irish charity had a transparent control and audit system which would meet the standards of Irish Government auditors?
None of this is to suggest that any corruption or misappropriation of funds took place.
But it is naive to assume that because an entity is a "charity", it therefore does not need controls, transparency, auditing, etc.
No group deserves some system of control more than the many field staff/volunteers of Irish charities (Concern, GOAL, Trócaire etc.) working in poor conditions in developing countries. Over the past 20 years I have observed daily their commitment, humour, and indomitable spirit, which have always made me proud to be Irish.
They should not have to work under the heightened risk of scandal back home because an adequate law did not exist to avoid it. - Yours, etc.,
PATRICK HENNESSY,
South Sathorn Road,
Bangkok,
Thailand.