345. Deputy Johnny Guirke asked the Minister for Rural and Community Development and the Gaeltacht if he will introduce a proportionate financial reporting option under Circular 13/2014, allowing Community Services Programme-funded social enterprises with an annual income below €250,000 to submit non-audited financial statements in place of audited accounts, consistent with the audit exemption threshold introduced under the Charities (Amendment) Act 2024; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [48019/26]

My Department's Community Services Programme (CSP) currently supports 453 services nationally via 434 community organisations to provide local social, economic, and environmental services through a social enterprise model, with a budget of €59.4m in 2026.

The Department of Public Expenditure, Infrastructure, Public Service Reform and Digitalisation (DPER) Circular 13 of 2014 outlines the financial reporting requirements on the Management of and Accountability for Grants from Exchequer funds.

While certain qualifying small-sized companies, including social enterprises, may be exempted from the full extent of the provision of Annual Financial Statements to the Companies Registration Office (CRO), my Department currently requires them to provide audited financial accounts in relation to the CSP Programme funding received from exchequer funding, in line with the aforementioned DPER Circular.

The detailed financial information contained in audited annual financial statements enables Pobal, which administers the CSP Programme on behalf of my Department, to monitor the financial performance of supported organisations, to review the notes to the audited accounts and to rely on the independent audit assurances provided. In addition, the funding model introduced for the CSP Programme in 2023 includes the level of retained income as one of the criteria used in determining the appropriate funding category to meet the funding needs of organisations. The abridged accounts that are permissible under the CRO exemption would not contain such necessary financial details, as required.

The Charities Regulatory Authority’s draft financial regulations, which will be introduced for the charitable sector, aim to standardise the format of financial statements for all charities. This is intended to increase transparency and allow finances to be directly comparable between charities and improve the data available on the Register of Charities about the sector. I would note that the proposed regulations will not affect the requirements of DPER Circular 13 of 2014, relating to accountability for exchequer funding.

I am aware of the additional cost being incurred by organisations in fulfilling the current requirements and I understand that this cost has increased for CSP-funded organisations in recent years. I have asked my officials to consider whether there are options available to support small-sized CSP organisations in this regard.