Who is a charity trustee?
Charity trustees are the people who ultimately exercise control over, and are legally responsible for, the charity.
- If the charity is a company, these people may also be known as directors or board members.
- In an unincorporated association – an association that has a legal form with a governing document – they may be known as committee members. In the case of a trust it can be more complicated. If the trustees of the trust are the ones who decide policy and control the assets, then they are also charity trustees.
If you are unsure as to whether you are a charity trustee or not, then it is important that you check the legal structure of your charity to clarify your position and consult your charity’s constitution or deed of trust (‘governing document’).
At the end of September 2021 there were more than 75,000 charity trustees in the Republic of Ireland.
If you are a charity trustee check your charity’s entry on the Register of Charities to ensure your details are correctly recorded.
What are the legal duties of a charity trustee?
Charity trustees have specific duties under the Charities Act 2009 and must make sure that their charity complies with the requirements of other relevant legislation.
To read more on legal duties of a charity trustee, see our Guidance for Charity Trustees document.
Legal duties of a charity trustee
Other relevant legislation includes:
- data protection legislation;
- employment legislation; and
- health and safety legislation.
Where a charity is a company, a charity trustee who is also a director of the company has additional duties under company law and common law in their capacity as company directors.
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs) for charity trustees
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I am a charity trustee, what resources are available for me?
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From where do the duties of a charity trustee come?
Charity trustees’ duties come from:
- the governing document of your charity;
- legislation (statute);
- common law (the body of Irish law based on established practice and decisions of the courts).
Charity trustees have specific duties under the Charities Act 2009 and are also required to ensure that their charity complies with the requirements of other relevant legislation e.g. data protection legislation, employment legislation, health and safety legislation etc.
Where a charity is a company, a charity trustee who is also a director of the company has additional duties under company law and common law in their capacity as company directors.
For further information on the responsibilities of a company director, please refer to the website of the Office of the Director of Corporate Enforcement.
For more information, download our Guidance for Charity Trustees.
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Will I get paid for being a charity trustee?
Charity trustees may not profit from carrying out their duties as a charity trustee. You cannot accept a salary specifically for acting as a charity trustee, or receive other benefits for this. However, you may be reimbursed for reasonable expenses, which you incur in carrying out your duties.
There is provision in section 89 of the Charities Act 2009 for charity trustees to enter into a written service agreement with a charity but this section is not yet operative. The Charities Regulator will provide further guidance on remuneration in due course.
For more information, download our Guidance for Charity Trustees.
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Can anyone be a charity trustee?
Not everyone is qualified to act as a charity trustee. Grounds for being disqualified from being a charity trustee include if a person:
- is adjudicated bankrupt;
- enters into a formal court approved insolvency arrangement with the Insolvency Service of Ireland;
- is convicted on indictment of an offence; and
- is a company that is in the course of being wound up.
For further detail and a full list of disqualifications from being a charity trustee, please consult section 55 of the Charities Act 2009