Charles Flanagan (Laois, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

The Minister of State, Deputy Stanton, has responsibility for that area. As Deputy Chambers is aware from the Minister of State's public utterances and engagements on the issue, it is very much his priority. It is a complex area of law that has not been updated or addressed since the 1950s. There was a substantive piece of legislation that has not been fully enacted. We hope to take aspects of that with particular reference to independent regulation and see how best that could be established. I welcome input from the committee, Deputy Chambers or any other Deputy who has expressed an interest in that. It is very much a priority of the Minister of State, Deputy Stanton. There are resource issues involved that we would be keen to ensure are covered in the context of preparation for the next budget . However, it is an area that is long outstanding as being in need of reform. The absence of reform in the area is reflected in a problem of gambling abuse across society which we have not fully recognised. The Minister of State, Deputy Stanton, is committed to so doing.