Benefacts.ie website bringing financial transparency launched at Fingal HQ
New website hopes to bring transparency to more than 18,600 civil society organisations in Ireland. The free-to-access Benefacts website, which carries information on a range of bodies including charities, schools, sports clubs, museums and religious groups launched by Minister Sean Kyne in Fingal’s Council Chamber
Fingal County Council
Press Release
Friday, 27 July 2018
New Benefacts.ie website launched by Minister Sean Kyne in Fingal’s Council Chamber
The new Benefacts.ie website was launched by Minister of State for Agriculture and Rural Development Sean Kyne TD in Fingal’s Council Chamber on Wednesday, 25 July.
Benefacts.ie is a free public website that provides the public with the most comprehensive and up-to-date information about Ireland’s non-profit sector. It also provides information about non-profit organisations sources of income, including government funding.
With assistance from Fingal’s Public Participation Network, Benefacts have been able to assimilate data from the County Register to provide more information about smaller, local non-profit organisations.
Also in attendance at the launch was the Mayor of Fingal, Cllr Anthony Lavin. He said: “We are delighted to launch the new Benefacts website here in Fingal’s Council Chamber. The updated online database is a valuable tool for citizens, community and volunteer groups, local authorities as well as Government. The comprehensive information made available by Benefacts allows for greater collaboration across all sectors.”
Speaking at the event, Minister Kyne said: “I am particularly pleased to have been asked to launch this upgrade to Benefacts’ excellent website. This is just the kind of infrastructure that community and voluntary organisations need to be better able to achieve their full potential in the important work they do in every parish in Ireland. Benefacts is a tangible example of how Government can work in partnership with the community, voluntary and philanthropic sectors to design and deliver new services that benefit our citizens. I would like to commend Fingal Chief Executive Mr Paul Reid for embracing this opportunity with such energy and enthusiasm – I’m sure they are already seeing the benefits of this excellent Open Data project.”
Welcoming the launch, Chief Executive of Fingal County Council Paul Reid said: “The reforms made to Local Authority Legislation in 2014 require us to consult with and promote effective participation by the local community in local government. Fingal has been very pro-active in this area with an engaged Public Participation Network and collaboration between multiple departments and local community groups. We are delighted to host today’s launch in the Fingal Council Chamber. The information provided by Benefacts is extremely valuable in bringing about greater engagement with non-profit organisations “
Explaining why they chose Fingal to host the new Benefacts website, Chief Executive of Benefacts, Patricia Quinn said: “Fingal has been a leader in Open Data adoption, and a role model for Benefacts when we started building our own database from open data sources in 2015. Fingal County Council offered practical support to Benefacts earlier this year, when we realised the potential of county register/public participation network data to augment the Benefacts Database of Irish Nonprofits.”
The new Benefacts website has been updated as follows:
Political parties have been added to the lists of almost 20,000 civil society organisations in the scope of the database, with data derived from their regulatory filings to the Standards in Public Office Commission
The sector analysis section has been expanded, allowing users to drill into details about the sector and its component sub-sectors, including employment and funding profiles.
There is a new advanced search facility which gives professional users including researchers and journalists the capacity to build up a much more detailed picture of comparative trends.
In cooperation with Fingal County Council, Benefacts has assimilated County Register data for the first time, thereby starting the important process of bringing smaller locally-based societies, associations and clubs into the Benefacts Database of Irish Nonprofits