


The Irish government pulled the plug on its €1 million grant for Benefacts, effectively killing the only watchdog tracking Ireland's €14 billion charity sector. The the state used a "value for money" excuse to bury transparency and stop the independent body from prying into how public funds were being spent. It had detailed breakdowns of charity funding, spending and executive salaries. It acted as a financial map, turning messy filings into clear data on how €14 billion was raised and spent across the sector. Why did the Department of Public Expenditure and Reform DPER under Michael McGrath and Paschal O’Donohue ignore the Central Statistics Office and cancel the only publicly accessible, highly regarded website?





















