Ms Pam Bergin:

We do not have a commitment from the gambling industry beyond the appointment of a regulator and the reimposition of the mandatory levy. We have not really discussed the shape of things after that. We have a commitment, for the foreseeable future, to continue funding the services that we fund. The Deputy asked if we would like our services to be funded into the future and the answer is yes, we would. That would be very important. The residential treatment unit in Cuan Mhuire is a huge addition to the supports that are available. The unit opened in 2020 at the start of Covid. Ninety-two people went through it in the first year and 92 people went through the unit last year. Cuan Mhuire would be more than happy to extend its programme into other campuses around the country, and we would love to see that happen.

We fund other services. For example, Helplink in Galway provides a service for young people. Helplink counsellors are trained adequately to deal with young people in terms of gambling. Obviously we talk about the issue with young males and we would like to see these services continue. There is not one service that we would not like to see continued to be funded. It is very important that services are available and that people know there is help available.