Tom Barry (Cork East, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

This brings me back to when I sat my leaving certificate examination and my having to learn off all about crannchur náisiúnta for my oral Irish examination. The arguments back then are different to those being made now in that back then, people were concerned about the introduction of the lottery. Obviously, it has proven its worth. I am glad to see it is bringing other business into shops.

What is the end game? Why would an organisation buy a national lottery licence and then allow it to become damaged? From a business perspective, that does not make any sense. Why was there a need for a new terminal? Was proper training in that regard provided? In regard to the lack of staff, is that a savings issue? I understand that there would be long queues when a machine breaks down and so on. Do the contracts with the new agent differ significantly from the old ones? Is the sales margin still worthwhile? When the national lottery was first introduced we did not have ticket checkers. There are many ways people can check their tickets. Has the unavailability of ticket checkers in shops contributed to the increase in unclaimed prizes? It was recently reported that a large sum of money had not been claimed. Are people moving to euromillions or other foreign lotteries and are lottery agents' margins in respect of the national lottery being reduced?