Budget 2024 – Partnership & Parity of Esteem

It is now established policy that many public services are delivered via the partnership formed with successive governments and the not-for-profit sector, the benefits of which were never better illustrated than during the Covid pandemic, when much of the vital frontline work was undertaken by charities and community groups around the country. This partnership dividend is worth developing and supporting into the future to ensure the best possible use and impact for public funding and the benefit of our citizens.

However, our sector does not enjoy the same parity of esteem with other sectors, despite the significant contribution it makes to our economy, the comprehensive regulatory and fiduciary frameworks within which it operates and the significant employment levels, the volunteering opportunities and social dividend it delivers. In our submission, we draw parallels with supports and initiatives that have been provided to other corporate & public sectors and call on our government to further demonstrate its belief in and support for our sector by providing the same opportunities.

The effect of inflation on charities is real and here to stay. With so many negative and variable factors at play in 2023, the economic environment is turbulent, and the sector has already taken practical steps to prepare for an unpredictable future, the timing of which could not be worse after a very disruptive time during the Covid pandemic.

It is against this backdrop that Charities Institute Ireland (Cii) recommends the following measures be considered in framing Budget 2024.

1. Increase the VAT Compensation Scheme Fund to €20m - to improve refund levels and defray the bottom-line cost to charities.
2. Incentivise Talent to deliver Policy Priorities – modify the SARP tax scheme and provide €18m to recruit public policy priority roles, like housing and health.
3. Include Charities in the Digital First programme - provide a €5m charity sector specific grant scheme for digital development & transformation like the €85m Digital Transition Fund for private businesses or provide direct access to the existing schemes.
4. Invest in Governance Best Practice – provide €5m fund to support regulatory & financial best practice in audited charities; provide €1m fund to support small and unaudited charities to develop best practice.
5. Develop Philanthropic Giving – fund the Department of Rural & Community Development to commission a full review of tax incentives to support the National Philanthropy Policy
6. Ensure Pay Parity for S39/56/10 Employees – fund the same terms & conditions for the same job as public sector agencies and support staff retention in the vital voluntary sector.
7. Deliver Sustainable Funding – commit to multi-annual funding for better planning, better services & more impact.

Read Cii's full Budget 2024 submission by Clicking Here.