S.I. No. 284 of 2009

CHARITIES ACT 2009 (COMMENCEMENT) ORDER 2009

Notice of the making of this Statutory Instrument was published in

"Iris Oifigiúil" of 31st July, 2009.

I, ÉAMON Ó CUÍV, Minister for Community, Rural and Gaeltacht Affairs, in exercise of the powers conferred on me by section 1(2) of theCharities Act 2009 (No. 6 of 2009), hereby order as follows:

1. This Order may be cited as the Charities Act 2009 (Commencement) Order 2009.

2. The 1st day of September 2009 is appointed as the day on which thefollowing provisions of the Charities Act 2009 (No. 6 of 2009) shall come into operation:

(a) section 1;

(b) section 2;

(c) section 5;

(d) section 10 (other than subsections (3) and (4)); and

(e) section 99.

GIVEN under my Official Seal,

28 July 2009

ÉAMON Ó CUÍV,

Minister for Community, Rural and Gaeltacht Affairs.

EXPLANATORY NOTE

(This note is not part of the Instrument and does not purport to be a legal interpretation.)

This Order commences sections 2, 5, 10 and 99, of the Charities Act 2009 ("the Act"). The purpose of this Order is to make it an offence for a Mass Card to be sold in contravention of the provisions of section 99 of the Act. Section 99 of the Act requires that Mass Cards may only be sold under an arrangement with a "recognised person". A recognised person for the purposes of section 99 means a bishop, or a provincial of an order of priests established under the authority of, and recognised by, the Holy Catholic Apostolic and Roman Church. Section 10 of the Act sets out the possible penalties on conviction for a breach of section 99. Section 5 is a technical section that provides that expenses incurred by the Minister in the administration of the Act shall be paid out of moneys provided by the Oireachtas. Section 2 of the Act contains the definitions of certain terms used in the Act.