IT MAY HAVE escaped your attention with all the stuff going on in the Dáil at the moment – George Lee waving goodbye to his seat, and continued attempts to deal with the public sector pay row, to name but two – but Justice Minister Dermot Ahern recently published proposals for what would be some very welcome legislation to deal with some of the biggest nuisances on our streets.

The new Criminal Justice (Public Order) Bill would make it an offence for beggars to hassle people for money within ten metres of an ATM, or of the entrance to a shop or other business premises 'where their behaviour or number is likely to deter members of the public from entering that premises', or generally anywhere that the begging is accompanied by unacceptable conduct such as harassment, intimidation or obstruction. Offenders could be hit with up to one month in jail or a fine of €400 – we just hope that if they're fined rather than imprisoned, they pay it with money they've already panhandled from passers-by, rather than going out to beg again ('spare a few bob for the court, boss?').

It looks though that the biggest nuisances of all will be exempt from the new rules – we're talking here about 'chuggers', or 'charity muggers', the annoyingly perky folk who go out in teams on busy shopping days and set themselves up every ten yards along the Main Street, so that you've to run a veritable gauntlet of financial requests when you just pop out for the paper or a lunchtime sandwich.

You know how the clipboard-wielding pests step out in front of you or flash you a wide smile and wonder if you've just a minute to spare so you can help sick puppies or dying children or people with some life-threatening disease, trying to play the guilt card on you, for who could realistically say those are causes not worth helping? It's not the cause that's the problem, though – it's the manner in which they try to get you to support it, by asking for your bank or credit card details so they can hit you for money every month until you finally get around to cancelling the order with the bank.

You wouldn't mind so much if you could be sure that all your money would go to the cause it's intended for – but of course, that's not the case. Instead, it goes to pay the chugger's wages and commission, as well as administration fees and the salaries of others in both the charity itself and often in the outside company it has engaged to put the teams of street collectors in place. A study in the UK in 2008 found that in some cases, as little as 14 per cent of the money donated actually ended up with the cause it was intended for, and there's no evidence to suggest that things are in any way significantly different here.

That's always been the way. Back in my own college days in Dublin, whenever you were looking for a summer job, you could always be sure there'd be classified ads in the Evening Press about 'Exciting Sales Job - no experience necessary - earn up to £8 per hour'. And remember, this was long before we had a minimum wage, and when the general going rate for a summer job was only about £2.50 to £3 per hour. So you'd ring up, and discover that the job involved standing with a clipboard outside Eason's or some other high-profile spot in the city centre, inviting people to 'buy a line' at a pound a pop, ostensibly in aid of some worthy local charity. You got to keep 20p for each line you sold – so theoretically, if you Mister (or Ms) Magic Salesperson altogether, you could make that £8 per hour they spoke about. The reality was far from that though, as I discovered myself when I once took on one of those jobs when badly stuck for some sort of an income myself. I did it for two hours - and sold three lines, earning me the princlely sum of 60p. I decided at that point that 30p per hour was never going to be a living wage, chucked in what was the shortest-lived 'job' I've ever had, and reflected even at that stage on how the motivation was all wrong for my part in the socalled charitable collection.

Things remain the same today. The cause that a 'chugger' is promoting might very well be a worthy one, but giving them your money that way is far from the best way to do it. So, here's how to deal with them in future: if you do talk to one of them, and they convince you that their cause is worth supporting, say 'thanks very much' and tell them you'll go home to look up the charity's website or phone number, and then contact them directly to make a donation.

Cut out the whole chain of middlemen and their commissions and fees, and the charity will be much better off. And you'll have done just a little bit in helping to get at least one nuisance off our streets.

- COLMlambert