Mary Lou McDonald (Dublin Central, Sinn Fein)
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I have set out in a rational, factual and measured way the reason I believe a two-year cooling off period is not just appropriate but absolutely necessary. It happens to tally precisely with the commitment given in the programme for Government. This is a new office. This is a new departure if the Minister is successful in bringing forward the legislation in respect of the running of the national lottery. He has indicated clearly that the office of this regulator will in all likelihood extend beyond the lottery and into the broader gambling and gaming industry. It is as much for the protection of the good name and standing and integrity of whomsoever might be the regulator that there should be an appropriate cooling-off period. I do not accept the arguments around constitutional difficulties. The cooling-off period does not represent a denial of a person's ability to find employment per se; it represents a very specific limitation on those areas of employment into which a regulator might enter, with the public interest in mind. That is why cooling-off periods are countenanced. I am extremely disappointed the commitment made in the programme for Government is not being honoured in this instance.