Jennifer Carroll MacNeill (Dún Laoghaire, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

No, but there is a difference, and especially as Deputies, we are conscious we do not often have authority in a particular thing but we have a certain persuasive authority by highlighting a given issue one way or another. If this was a split of 40:60 or 55:45, I am not sure we would be having this conversation, but 98% of that money being spent on advertising is a big difficulty for us. It is a question around what is the reaction of the controller of that and what steps have been taken, because it appears the national lottery has used its discretion to spend an overwhelming amount of its money on its own self-promotion. We can get to how that is linked to problem gambling and other things, and Deputy Catherine Murphy has outlined what we may consider some misleading information on good causes and the spending. However, Ms Boate is the gatekeeper of all that. I suggest to her the interpretation she was given on the obligation and permission is incorrect and she probably should have sought external legal advice, especially when the conversation is at the level of the Comptroller and Auditor General highlighting it and it coming to this committee. The second thing is, even if Ms Boate has not done that, I suggest she has significant persuasive authority and may have had the opportunity to write to the operator and query, or find language that allowed her to query, whether this was in fact the balance suggested by the licence.