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First Commencement Order Made for the Charities (Amendment) Act 2024

The Charities (Amendment) Act 2024 has partially commenced, with 12 sections coming into force on 27 January 2025, under Statutory Instrument 10 of 2025. Key changes include updated definitions, enhanced information-sharing powers for the Charities Regulator, and expanded High Court oversight. Most provisions remain uncommenced, requiring further Statutory Instruments. Charities should review these changes and assess their impact.


The long-awaited Charities (Amendment) Act 2024, (Amendment Act 2024), was enacted on 10 July 2024. Since then, the charity sector has been waiting for news of “commencement”.

Statutory Instrument 10 of 2025 was published on Friday 24 January 2025, notifying us that as of today (27 January 2025) there will be a partial commencement of the Amendment Act 2024.

This means that specific listed sections (only) of the Amendment Act 2024 come into force on 27 January. This is the first Commencement Order that has been made since the Amendment Act 2024 was enacted and is therefore a very noteworthy development.

We explain what sections are now in force and what changes they usher in. It is important to note that the rest of the Amendment Act 2024 (a majority of sections) remain uncommenced and the charity sector will have to wait for subsequent Commencement Orders to bring further sections of the Amendment Act 2024 into law.

What sections are being commenced on 27 January 2025?

As stated, this is a partial commencement only, with just 12 sections being commenced.

We consider below the sections that commence today.

Part 1 – Technical

This commences sections 1 and 2 of the Amendment Act 2024 which are technical sections only setting out the name and commencement details for the Amendment Act 2024.

Section 3 – New or amended definitions

Section 3 amends certain provisions of section 2 of the Charities Act 2009 (2009 Act) which is the Interpretation section. Notable amendments to the definitions include:

  • The updating of the definition of a charity trustee to exclude a company secretary/person who performs the functions of a secretary to the charity trustees. This is a very positive change for secretaries, who were previously considered to be charity trustees. Note that this change may mean that charities may need to update their registers of charity trustees. Note also that the updated definition includes a new concept of a shadow director or any person in accordance with whose directions or instructions the board of the charity are accustomed to act.
  • The introduction of a new definition of a “member of the charitable organisation”. This is a new development for charities that are not companies. Their members are those with the power to appoint, nominate or vote for the appointment of a person as a charity trustee of that organisation.

    It is very important for charities to take the time to look carefully at their governing document to identify precisely who is considered to be a member within the meaning of the Amendment Act 2024. There will be new obligations and requirements relating to these members and the engagement by a charitable organisation with its members.

  • The updating of the definition of connected persons.

Section 5 – Disclosure of information by the Charities Regulator to other regulators or listed bodies

Section 5 amends section 28 of the 2009 Act which relates to the disclosure of information by the Charities Regulator to certain other bodies where it suspects an offence has been committed by a charity trustee or charitable organisation. The change made by the Amendment Act 2024 is that the offence in question must now be an offence other than an offence under the 2009 Act. There is also a new right for the Charities Regulator to provide to the other bodies (which includes An Garda Síochána and the Revenue Commissioners), any information that the Charities Regulator has obtained during the performance of its functions.

Section 6 – Administrative cooperation between Charities Regulator and other relevant bodies

Section 6 amends section 33 of the 2009 Act which deals with administrative cooperation between the Charities Regulator and other relevant bodies. The amendments provide a new definition of what a relevant body is. The definition now includes a body, or holder of an office, who carries out functions relating to the oversight or monitoring of charitable organisations where the body or office is prescribed by order of the Minister.

Section 20 – Direction to a charity or a charity trustee to provide Charities Regulator with information

Section 20 amends section 53 of the 2009 Act which deals with the power of the Charities Regulator to require a charity or charity trustee to provide it with information. The amendments to this section mean that the Charities Regulator can now specify the manner and the time period within which the information has to be furnished. Further new subsections now allow the Charities Regulator to request the Ministers for Education or for Further and Higher Education, Research, Innovation and Science to provide the Charities Regulator with information relating to a charity which is an education body. There are also new subsections which now provide that both the charity and the charity trustee are guilty of an offence if they fail to comply with a direction from the Charities Regulator.

Section 31 – Protection of charities, applications to the High Court

Section 31 amends section 74 of the 2009 Act dealing with applications to the High Court which are made by the Charities Regulator. These include applications on the grounds that offences are being committed, that property is being misapplied or that there is other misconduct or mismanagement in relation to the affairs of a charity. In addition to these grounds, the amendment provides that a High Court order may now be applied for by the Charities Regulator where there is no “effective management or oversight of the activities of the charitable organisation by the charity trustees”.

In addition, the amendment now provides for an exclusion from liability for persons appointed by the High Court to act as a charity trustee, with exceptions related to the bad faith, negligence or misconduct of that person and it expands the orders that the High Court may make to include an order directing the dissolution of a charity (although this does not apply to education bodies).

Section 33 – Appeals by the Charity Appeals Tribunal

Section 33 amends section 77 of the 2009 Act. It previously prescribed a period of not more than 21 days for bringing an appeal to a determination of the Charity Appeals Tribunal. The amendment provides that appeals can now be brought to the Tribunal after 21 days if the Tribunal “for good and sufficient reason” determines.

Section 36 – Exclusion of liability for certain charity trustees

Section 36 introduces a new section 90A. The new section now excludes from personal liability in civil proceedings certain board members of certain education bodies, (specifically recognised schools and management committees of education support centres) in respect of anything done in pursuance of the 2009 Act, provided that they are acting in good faith. This provision reflects the indemnity provided under the Education Act 1998 to recognised schools and management committees of education support centres.

Section 37 – Repeal of restrictions on the sale of Mass cards

Section 37 repeals section 99 of the 2009 Act which previously set out restrictions on the sale of Mass cards and offences for breach of those restrictions.

Section 39 – Amendments to the Charities Act 1961

Section 39 makes a short suite of amendments and repeals to the Charities Act 1961, an older piece of legislation which predominantly deals with charitable trusts and property.

The section amends section 34(2) of the Charities Act 1961, which relates to the making of an application to the Charities Regulator for permission to dispose of land belonging to a charity to another charity for less than market value, where the charity trustees do not otherwise have a power to dispose. Previously, the Charities Regulator only had power to make such orders where the charity acquiring the land had a charitable purpose that was different to the charity disposing of the land. This amendment now extends the scope of the power of the Charities Regulator, enabling them to approve the disposition of charity land for less than market value to any other charity, whether or not their charitable purpose is different or the same as the charity disposing of the property.

In addition, the section makes three repeals to the Charities Act 1961. The first of these repeals section 29(4) relating to the making of Cy-Pres orders of less than €5,000. The second repeal will be of interest to charities who have legal proceedings in being as it repeals section 53 which was a requirement to give notice of the issuing of legal proceedings to the Charities Regulator. The third and final repeal is of section 54 which had previously allowed deeds of a charity to be deposited for security in a repository provided by the Charities Regulator.

Section 40 - Amendment of Taxes Consolidation Act 1997

Section 40 amends Section 851A(8) of the Taxes Consolidation Act 1997. The section provides the circumstances in which a Revenue officer may disclose information in relation to a charity.

Previously this included information authorised by a Revenue Commissioner, and which related to the name of a charity, its objectives, its governing documents and its principal officers.

The section 39 amendment introduces a new disclosure. A Revenue office may now disclose information if required by the Charities Regulator. This applies when the information is needed for the Regulator to perform its functions under the 2009 Act. However, such information may only be used for this specific purpose or related functions.

Recap on the structure of the Amendment Act 2024

The 2009 Act has been the principal piece of legislation for charities for almost a decade. The Amendment Act 2024 does not replace the 2009 Act. Instead, it makes a wide-ranging set of amendments, insertions and repeals of the 2009 Act. 35 separate sections of the 2009 Act are affected by changes introduced by the Amendment Act 2024. 12 of these sections have now been commenced.

The structure of the Amendment Act 2024 requires cross-referencing both the 2009 Act and the Amendment Act 2024. This is essential to gain a full understanding of the new laws in effect. This is the case with all “amending Acts” but it can cause difficulty for readers. We have prepared an "informal consolidation" that combines the 2009 Act with all the changes introduced by the Amendment Act 2024. This brings the full set of applicable laws together in one place. If you would like to receive a copy of this document, please contact a member of our Charity and Not-for-Profit team.

Next steps

Charity trustees and their senior management now need to familiarise themselves with the Amendment Act 2024 and whether or how they will impact their charity.

Should you require any advice on the provisions of the Amendment Act 2024’s recent commencement, please get in touch with a member of our Charity Law and Not-for-Profit team.

We continue to monitor for further Commencement Orders which we will share in further updates.

The content of this article is provided for information purposes only and does not constitute legal or other advice.



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