Mr. Paul Mullins:

We have already made a short submission to the Deputies and Senators on the committee. The Aiséirí group established in Cahir, County Tipperary in 1983, has primary addiction treatment centres in counties Tipperary, Wexford and Kilkenny and a halfway house in Waterford. We are pleased to be invited to place our views and experience in working with problem and pathological gamblers to the committee.

Aiséirí has two adult treatment centres in Wexford and Tipperary and the Aislinn Adolescent Education Centre in Ballyragget, County Kilkenny, which works with 15 to 21 year olds, male and female. The adult centres take 12 residents over a four week residential treatment programme and the adolescent centre works over a six week residential treatment programme. Since its foundation in 1983, Aiséirí has been working with problem gamblers using the 12 step recovery programme. This programme has proved successful for hundreds of thousands of people suffering from alcohol, drugs and gambling addictions. The most important issue about the 12 step programme lies in the fact that it works.

However, due to the changing and challenging nature of problem gambling, including Internet and gambling on social media sites, we have developed individual treatment plans based on the gambling clients' pathway model. We try to follow best practice in the area and, therefore, offer value for money in terms of a better treatment episode for all those presenting with a gambling problem. We assess using recognised assessment tools such as the South Oaks Gambling Screen and the diagnostic statistical manual, DSM 5 of the American Psychiatric Association. We are happy that the gambling Bill includes treatment, education and research. Aiséirí will conduct its own research on past and current residents in a two year period 2012 to 2013 and present it to the Department in early 2014. We hope it will assist in the final legislation.

We recommend that education on the dangers of gambling and betting be introduced to all secondary and tertiary education in Ireland, that a prevalence study be carried out to determine numbers and those in danger of moving from social gambling to problem gambling. During the past few years, and certainly since the financial crisis in Ireland, we have witnessed an increase in those presenting with a gambling problem. The financial implications for a pathological gambler and his family are for the main part long term placing a huge burden on both those suffering from this insidious addiction and their families.

We would like to work with all concerned including the gaming and betting industry in helping the problem gambler. We need to work together and the provision of a statutory framework and a fund as is the case in the United Kingdom is to be welcomed. For far too long gambling has been seen as the poor relation of the other addictions currently affecting Irish society, this is alcohol and drugs. It destroys as many, if not more lives. Research suggests a higher rate of suicide among problem gamblers than in the other addictions I have mentioned.

Gambling has been called the hidden addiction and those of us working at Aiséirí have witnessed at first hand the devastation wrought by gambling. We agree with the compulsory training of staff in terms of recognising the incidence of potential problem gambling with their customers. This alone may help in the reduction of pathological gamblers as we recognise that a small cohort of the gaming and betting industry's customers contribute a disproportionate amount of their profits.

We have gained invaluable experience in working with problem and pathological gamblers across our adult and adolescent centres and have previously conducted research among adolescent gamblers and with members of Gamblers Anonymous. Both of these studies are available at academia.org and were sent to the Minister for Justice and Equality. We hope to be in a position to offer a day programme for problem gamblers in 2014, as not everyone can avail of a four week long residential treatment episode and costs remain a hindering factor for those seeking help.

I avail of the opportunity to thank the committee for the invitation and wish it the best in its endeavours to complete the gambling Bill.