Ms Carol Boate:

If one looks back over all the national lottery licences going back to when it started, they have all had minimum targets and minimum requirements in terms of growing the national lottery and the number of outlets. It has always been Government policy to grow it. The minimum was increasing all the time. I read the Act and the licence very carefully to be sure I understand what the Oireachtas has asked me to do, and what the licence requires the company to do, and it is clear the policy has always been to keep growing the national lottery. The licence is a continuation of that. My personal view on what the State ought to be doing is not relevant.