Thomas Pringle (Donegal, Independent) | Oireachtas source

I am coming to this as a new member of the committee. I take what the Minister of State says, that in his opinion this will be dealt with by later legislation and that that is what he intends to do, but the problem is when that legislation will come before us. Will it ever come? What is the Minister of State's timescale for it? It is vitally important. Regarding the private members' clubs, gambling is a huge problem in Ireland, bigger than drink or anything else, and we need to tackle it. I commend the Minister of State on taking these steps now to do so, but how long is his timescale for this happening in the future? Would what we are talking about affect, say, GAA clubs when they hold poker classics? Is that the same kind of thing we are talking about, or would this legislation affect organised businesses more?