Oireachtas Joint and Select Committees
Wednesday, 10 July 2019
Select Committee on Justice and Equality
Gaming and Lotteries (Amendment) Bill 2019: Committee Stage
David Stanton (Cork East, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source
The Gambling Control Bill provides for the establishment of a social fund through a levy on the industry, which will be used specifically to help people with gambling problems and addictions. It will also fund research which is important and provide information and education to people about the dangers of gambling. If someone has an addiction issue, that is a health issue and my colleague, the Minister of State, Deputy Catherine Byrne, is responsible for looking after addictions, including gambling addictions.
A private fund has been established recently by some elements of the industry to make funding available to some addiction services specifically ring-fenced for gambling and that is happening independent of me and the Department; we are not involved in that. I advise anyone who is a problem gambler or who has an addiction to go to a therapy centre, get assistance, meet a therapist or a counsellor and get help in that regard. It is a health issue at the end of the day and the Department of Health is leading on that and doing some good work.
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