Madam, - While echoing Tom Arnold's call of February 11th for the urgent prioritising of charities legislation, Patrick Hennessy's letter of February 16th raises a further point that needs to be addressed. His letter gives the impression that large charities such as GOAL and Concern are not subject to audit or financial controls. I feel it is important to reassure the Irish public that this is not the case.
Notwithstanding the fact that legislation surrounding the setting up of new charities requires a major overhaul, the reality is that many well established overseas aid charities, such as GOAL, are already subject to far greater levels of scrutiny and financial control requirements than many commercial and State entities. As a limited company, GOAL is subject to company law and all the corporate governance compliance legislation that has been developed in recent years. This includes statutory audit and filing of annual accounts with the Companies Office.
GOAL and similar agencies are also subject to regular, rigorous audits from the institutional donors (government agencies, the EU and UN bodies) that fund a large proportion of their income. Such audits cover all aspects of financial control of the organisation and reassure our major donors that we are trustworthy custodians of their funds and indeed any funds that we receive. - Yours, etc.,
JOHN O'SHEA, GOAL, Dun Laoghaire, Co Dublin.