Rebuild trust - Transparency in charities

In Finland, the country’s top 10,000 or so earners’ tax bill is published each year. Known as “national envy day”, this openness seems a very practical commitment to the idea of transparency — and civic morality.

In Ireland, it would fill our cardiac wards if it was even suggested that we detail individual contributions to the national pot — but how revealing it might be. However, we might take some small steps along that road.

The Oxfam scandal, where aid money was used to pay prostitutes, points to another area where oversight has been at best lax. We have had our own disappointments with domestic charities, though none involved paying for sex.

Anyone working with children, especially teachers, now has be vetted by gardaí before they can be offered a position. Could the charities commissioner copy that process so anyone giving to a cause knows they are dealing with reputable charity workers — and that their gift will be used as intended? And after this, we can talk about publishing individual tax returns.