The Charities Regulator has said a survey of Irish attitudes to charities found that while Irish people strongly support them, overall trust and confidence needs to improve.
The chief executive of the Regulator Helen Martin told the News at One on RTE Radio that the findings of the survey, which was carried out by Amárach, show that 86% of those surveyed believe the work of charities is important and 76% said the impact of charities is significant or very significant.
However, she said it also showed there is work to be done to enhance understanding about regulation of the sector and people should know that a charity needs to be registered before it can operate.
Ms Martin said the public can check which charities are regulated on the Regulator's website.
She said that a third of respondents said that their level of trust and confidence in charities had fallen and this is because they were not being assured about where their money went.
She said customer confidence was driven by openness and transparency and that 'people what to know how much [money] goes to the cause' and the extent of 'other costs', including of administration.
Ms Martin said that trust and confidence were higher in local charities and organisations.
Support was highest for charities assisting the homeless, refuge services, medical and health-related causes and children, youth and animal rescue.
She said that work to make legislative amendments and pass the Charities Amendment Bill would 'assist and ensure detailed financial statements are submitted to Regulator' by individual charities and these would then be published on a register.
