Oireachtas Joint and Select Committees

Thursday, 26 November 2015

Public Accounts Committee

Bord na gCon Financial Statements 2014

10:00 am

Mr. Joe Lewins:

It is a cumulative effect as opposed to a one-off payment. According to the initial Indecon report, the majority of the €600,000 was to come from television sales through being able to sell our product to the United Kingdom and Ireland through the betting shops, the retail estate. There has been a significant lag, given that we did not reach the trial basis until 1 September this year. They wanted to trial it for a number of reasons. They wanted to establish whether we could deliver what we said we could and whether we could offer the retail industry the margins it was used to in the United Kingdom, which was the biggest market. The major players did not want to buy the product until they saw it. We have just concluded the 12-week trial, albeit much later than anticipated. We had anticipated that it would be finished earlier in the year. We are in negotiations to conclude contracts with the hope the revenue we first thought we would get in 2015 will materialise in 2016. In effect, we are one year behind.

That is fine. When we get these lovely reports, I get worried. This is an Indecon report and this is the Bord na gCon response. We were given dates. We have one month to go in 2015 and there is this €600,000. It was mentioned earlier that much of that €600,000 would come through this year but now Mr. Lewins is saying it is not happening this year.

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