Ms Sharon Byrne:

We are delighted to have the opportunity to join the joint committee to discuss the proposed Gambling Control Bill 2013. We commend the Minister for Justice and Equality, Deputy Alan Shatter, and his Department for getting the Bill to this stage, the huge amount of work they have done and how they have always been accessible and willing to discuss and understand any issue within the industry.

Betting shops employ more than 6,000 people in Ireland and we have been trying to compete with the online and mobile side of the industry for many years under the burden of legislation which predates the Constitution. Betting shops use pencil and paper, while every customer in our shop has the online world in his or her pocket. We look forward to the Bill levelling the playing field and allowing our shops to provide the service they always have enjoyed using the latest modern technologies. This will allow us to continue to be a major contributor to the Exchequer, create valuable jobs and facilitate further investment in our sector.

Virtual racing was born out of the foot and mouth disease epidemic. It struck our industry for seven weeks I think about eight yeas ago. During that time there was no horse racing and nothing to bet on in the shops and SIS, the picture provider, obviously had no product to give us. I like the Bill's proposal that anybody providing a virtual service should be authorised to do so and be regulated. I recommend that he or she be audited as stringently as possible. Some virtual service providers would receive a black mark and we would not condone them in any way. I fully support the Bill's proposals on how people can bet on virtual products.

I emphasise that the industry in Ireland is a lot smaller than that in the United Kingdom. There are 9,000 shops in the United Kingdom but only 1,000 in Ireland. Before the start of the recession, we had 1,365 betting shops; today, there are 1,014.

This is in part due to natural market settling and, owing to the recession, to people not having sufficient money. We believe a body is absolutely necessary for the industry and that it should be properly resourced in terms of expertise in respect of auditing and regulation. This will be a challenge given that the industry here is much smaller than that in the UK.

Social responsibility is a fundamental building block of this legislation. Seven years ago, the Irish Bookmakers' Association commenced funding a charity in Northern Ireland called the Dunlewey Centre, which is an addiction service. It is a registered charity which does work for the PSNI and other bodies, including GamCare in the UK. People in Northern Ireland who contact GamCare are referred to the Dunlewey Centre. It operates a Freefone number seven days a week and employs 40 counsellors across Ireland who provide free face-to-face sessions to those affected by problem gambling, including families and friends. The Dunlewey Centre is fully funded by betting shops. We are seeking recognition of its work during the past seven years and that it be recognised in the legislation as an approved supplier of responsible gambling services. The centre does exemplary work and is totally independent and regulated in Northern Ireland. We highly recommend its work.

Currently, Irish betting shops do not engage with persons under 18 years of age. They display details of counselling services, including free phone numbers, and allow persons to self-exclude. All staff have received training at the Dunlewey Centre and as such are able to identify those whose gambling is escalating. I would like to think that betting shops are compliant in this area and fully support the recommendations in this regard as provided for in the Bill. As the service is fully funded by bookmakers, no bookmaker can escape paying for it. The company that provides the racing pictures bills every betting shop in Ireland. Large operators have agreed to pay €150 per shop per year, with small independent shops paying €75, which means approximately €150,000 is provided by the betting industry for the provision of counselling services.

We believe the level of expertise available in this room could be of benefit to the Department. We are happy to be of assistance in addressing the issues of this extremely complicated industry. I thank members for their time and am happy to answer any questions they may have.