Brendan Howlin (Wexford, Labour) | Oireachtas source

I have been asked a number of questions. Some fair comments were made about regulatory failures in the past. I would not always blame the regulator, however. Some regulators are so hamstrung by overt Government policy that they are not intended to be an authoritative regulator. There was a deliberate policy decision by the previous administration which examined in a formal commission a structure of financial regulation and decided that light-touch regulation was appropriate. It is not fair to blame a light-touch regulator if his mandate was to have a light touch. The general view after that failure is that we need proper regulation. Bluntly, that should not be done at political level. It should be done at an accountable, regulatory level as is effectively done in other jurisdictions.

I understand Deputy Sean Fleming's point on the general position I set out in the 2011 document. We have made substantial progress on amalgamations and subsumptions in respect of 48 different bodies in 2012 alone. We are working on a range of further bodies now. There will be instances, however, where we must create new bodies. There was a period in which every issue was dealt with by establishing a new agency. Often, it suited Departments to do things at arm's length. Where possible, that should be re-integrated back to Departments. That has certainly been the Government's strategy. For new bodies which have a particular purpose, a sunset clause is appropriate. A regulator is a different kind of entity. As long as the business to be regulated exists, the regulator should be in place

In regard to the general point made by Deputy Boyd Barrett that somehow this is a sell-off or a privatisation, this is a lease of a licence that will revert entirely back to the State when the term of the lease is over.

It is not a sell-off in that sense at all. In regard to the Chairman's question on gambling, the issue of gambling is evolving and it is causing significant concern. The Department of Justice and Equality is preparing substantial overarching legislation on gambling. When we discussed in Cabinet the need to provide for a regulator for the lotto, the synergies in this regard were self-evident. Although it is clear that legislation will first have to emerge from the latter Department and I do not want to pre-empt that work, the Minister and I share the view that one regulator should in due course have a responsibility not only for the lotto but also for gambling in general. That may evolve when the new legislation is introduced.

There will be no charge to the State because the regulator will be funded from lotto income. We will deal with the specifics of the funding in subsequent amendments because Deputy Fleming made several salient points in this regard on Second Stage.

In regard to accountability, section 22 of the Bill as published makes the regulator fully accountable to the Oireachtas by virtue of annual reports and being called to give account before this committee or whatever committee is appropriate. That is important.