Seán Fleming (Laois-Offaly, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

Will the Minister elaborate on commercial sensitivity? How would the details of the licence be deemed to be commercially sensitive given that the Minister said he would publish the conditions of the licence on the eTenders website? Could he explain the difference between the tender documents, which will outline conditions, and the rules and regulations regarding the tenders people make? How could information become commercially sensitive after the fact?

I understand commercial sensitivity. For example, if a company is awarded a contract by a public body, the details of the contract are commercially sensitive. It might harm a company’s chances in bidding for the next contract in six months’ time or a similar contract elsewhere if someone were to use the information on the successful bidder for commercial purposes in a future bid. Given that the next licence will be 20 years hence, who could use the information against the licence holder or operator, whichever term one uses, given that it will be at least 20 years before any competition can arise? I do not see the need for commercial sensitivity given that a monopoly situation will apply. The Minister has said there will be only one national lottery. We do not disagree with that, but it is a monopoly. How could a monopoly be concerned, as it does not have any competitors?