Frances Fitzgerald was speaking in the Dail during a debate about tighter regulation of the sector – put forward by the Social Democrats last night.
Today the board of Console will discuss outstanding pay for staff members at the charity.
The Justice Minister told the Dail that she was working with the Charities regulator to ensure that by this coming September it will have the staff it needs to investigate allegations of wrongdoing in the sector.
Frances Fitzgerald said the regulator now has 12,500 different charities on its register
She said to date – it has received around 300 concerns in relation to 132 charities.
The Social Democrats want a special anti-corruption body set up – but the Tánaiste said a range of state agencies are already providing this key service.
She said suspected criminal activity – such as fraud should be reported to Gardai and added that a corruption bill will be published by the Government later this year.
Under this bill – anyone convicted of corruption will face up to 10 years in prison and unlimited fines.
In addition the courts will be given unlimited powers to remove certain public officials from office
