Arthur Spring (Kerry North-West Limerick, Labour) | Oireachtas source

The witnesses are very welcome. In terms of the skill-set they put together with Anthony Foley when they were making a team, An Post is a 20% stakeholder in the national lottery. It has a core competency of operating the national lottery for the past 27 years, so it has a relationship with the retailers also. That was a seamless relationship between the national lottery, via the agent, and the customer. Everybody found it to be satisfactory, not just for all involved in the playing of it but the people who have benefited from the national lottery, namely, those who developed the GAA hurling fields, the rugby fields and basketball halls. The people have seen utilities and facilities developed on the back of the national lottery. Now that 80% of it has been sold, Premier Lotteries Ireland, PLI, need that level of loyalty and customer behaviour to consistently perform. That must be in decline as a result of some problems that have arisen, which Ms Buckley has highlighted. She said the integrity of the brand has been damaged marginally and that it to be restored. That will cost the operators money ultimately so in terms of my question, if An Post has a 20% stake and a core competency in terms of operating the lottery, what role is it playing currently in providing the service? Surely that is the solution because PLI, as well as the retailers, have a headache in this regard, if I know anything about ducks and drakes.