Mr. Pádraig Ó Ríordáin:

That is a really important question. We see it as a complex issue and a nuanced question. The work of this committee is so important. Once we set up an Irish regulator, the committee should want to have every Irish better betting with an Irish-regulated company because that is how we keep people safe. One of the many differences between tobacco and gambling is that there are plenty of offshore operators in our space. If regulated companies with all the safeguards imposed by the regulator and agreed are not providing a service to those customers, they will go to offshore companies over which there are no controls. One of the problems with banning advertising entirely is that it equalises the position of unregulated offshore providers and regulated on-shore providers. Once we have a regulated body of operators in the system, it is very important that they are able to get their message out to the Irish better.