In the first six months of 2023, 62 new charities were added to the Register of Charities following the approval of their applications by the Charities Regulator. During the same period, 63 charities were deregistered. 

Dublin saw the highest number of new registrations with nineteen charities; Cork was next with five, and Clare and Galway both had four new charities registered by the end of June 2023. The new charities collectively are advancing a range of purposes, with many advancing more than one. A full list of the newly registered charities and their charitable purposes is available to read on our website. 

The charities added to the register during the six month period, include one organisation that has changed its legal form. When an organisation changes its legal form, for example from an association to a company limited by guarantee, the original form ceases to exist legally, so the charity trustees are required to apply to register the new entity before any steps are taken to transfer any charity assets to it, and wind up the original organisation.

By law, all charities that operate or wish to operate in the State must apply to the Charities Regulator for inclusion on the Register of Charities (the Register) regardless of their size, legal structure or income. Charities must also notify the Charities Regulator of their intention to wind up operations, as this will mean deregistering their charity, and removing it from the Register. 

The registration of charities in Ireland is a robust legal process to ensure that Ireland has a vibrant, trusted charity sector that is valued for the public benefit that it provides. Each application is carefully assessed to ensure that the applicant meets the ‘charity test’, the requirements to be registered as a charity that are set out in the Charities Act 2009 (the “Act”). Public benefit is one of the main elements of the test, and is what makes charities different from other organisations. A charity must provide a public benefit at all times. If it does not, it is no longer charitable.

When the Charities Regulator was established in 2014, organisations that already held a CHY number granted to them by the Revenue Commissioners were automatically deemed registered in line with section 40 of the Act. A deemed registered charity can remain on the Register only for so long as it continues to hold an entitlement to a charitable tax exemption. These are called Section 40 charities. 

De-registrations

Of the 63 charities deregistered in the year's first six months, 44 were charities that applied and were registered under the Act.  The main reasons given for deregistering these charities were that they had ceased activities or had changed their legal form. A further 19 were section 40 charities that were removed from the Register as Revenue had notified the Charities Regulator that it had withdrawn the entitlement of these organisations to a charitable tax exemption. 

There is guidance on registering for new and existing charities available on the Charities Regulator’s website.