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References to charitable status.
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46.— (1) A person who holds out a body that is not registered as being registered shall be guilty of an offence.
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(2) A body (other than a registered charitable organisation) that, in any notice, advertisement, promotional literature or any other published material, describes itself or its activities in such terms as would cause members of the public to reasonably believe that it is a charitable organisation shall, subject to subsection (6), be guilty of an offence.
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(3) A person who holds out a body that is not established under the law of the State as being so established shall be guilty of an offence.
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(4) A person who holds out a body whose seat of management or control is outside the State as being a body whose seat of management or control is in the State shall be guilty of an offence.
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(5) Without prejudice to the generality of subsections (3) and (4), a body that is publicly described as being an “Irish charity” or a “registered Irish charity” shall be regarded as being held out—
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(a) as being registered, and
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(b) as being a body—
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(i) established under the law of the State, or
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(ii) whose seat of management or control is in the State.
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(6) It shall be a defence to proceedings for an offence under subsection (2) for the defendant to prove that—
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(a) it is established under the law of a place other than the State,
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(b) under that law, it is entitled to be described as a charity or charitable organisation,
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(c) its centre of management and control is outside the State,
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(d) it does not—
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(i) occupy any land in the State, or
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(ii) carry on any activities in the State,
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and
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(e) the notice, advertisement, promotional literature or other published material containing the description of which the offence is alleged to consist also contains a statement as to its place of establishment.
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(7) A registered charitable organisation shall, in all public documents and such other publications as may be prescribed, including on television or the internet, state in legible characters—
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(a) that it is a registered charitable organisation, and
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(b) provide such other information as may be prescribed, including the names of the charity trustees and the address of its principal office.
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(8) Regulations made for the purposes of subsection (7) may provide—
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(a) for the exemption of charitable organisations belonging to a particular class from any of the requirements of the regulations, or
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(b) that, in the case of a statement or information that is in a language other than the Irish language or the English language, the statement or information be in the Irish language or the English language or both of those languages.
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