Ms Carol Boate:

I was able to put the figure of €122 million, which is the amount of expired unclaimed prizes each year added up over the years of the licence, into the public domain under freedom of information legislation. Sometimes Acts of the Oireachtas can override it. Under a freedom of information request, my office determined the total value of money being forfeited to the operator to promote the national lottery could and should be revealed and we put it in the public domain. The Information Commissioner agreed with that decision. However, the breakdown could not be released. The Comptroller and Auditor General in the exercising of his statutory powers was able to release that figure and we welcome that.