Joan Burton (Dublin West, Labour) | Oireachtas source

The Minister of State was giving examples of big sums. He chose to mention the sum of €30,000 in his contribution. I did not pick it - he did. The Minister of State and his officials need to sit down and think this out. The Minister of State has referred to charities on many occasions. Do events that are being carried on by charities meet the definition the Minister of State is providing for in this Bill? Our Lady's Children's Hospital in Crumlin engages in a great deal of fundraising to pay for treatments given to babies with various conditions and to keep pace with medical developments. There is a huge amount of charitable activity in this country. The Minister of State is throwing much of it into some doubt. There are raffles at most fundraisers. In the case of a very high-level fundraiser, it might cost €100 for a raffle ticket. Is the Fine Gael fundraiser €100 a ticket as well? It seems from the Minister of State's reaction that this might not be the case. I thought it was. I understand there are people who buy €1,000 worth of tickets at Fine Gael fundraisers.

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