Donnchadh Ó Laoghaire (Cork South Central, Sinn Fein)
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I will be as quick as I can. I echo the frustrations expressed by other members. There has been a lack of action. From what the Minister of State says, there is a consensus regarding the need for regulation yet we are in the same space we were several years ago regarding the lack of a regulator. This is a significant issue that affects a significant amount of people. I know about the lack of data, which has been touched upon, but according to the Institute of Public Health in Ireland, 1% of the population, or 40,000 people, is affected by problem gambling.

I will group my questions together. Is the Minister of State determined to ensure that fixed odds betting terminals do not make an impact in this jurisdiction, do not develop any roots and are not tolerated? What is the Minister of State's attitude to the separation of gambling and alcohol to ensure that as far as possible, the two things are regulated separately and do not take place on the same premises? Reference has been made to the strength of the gambling lobby. Many of the big gambling firms would make much play of their efforts to tackle gambling. I would have my doubts. One comes across examples, particularly in the case of online gambling, of the ability of some of the big firms to ban somebody for four or five profitable bets. These firms can spot a pattern in terms of a profitable gambler for want of a better word yet they seem to have great difficulty in identifying somebody who has a clear problem and is a problem gambler. These firms have an awful lot of information to hand. Are they using it to the best of their ability to identify people who are gambling too much and have developed problem gambling habits? I think they could do a great deal more. I will leave it at that. I might have more questions for later speakers. It is unfortunate. I know the Minister of State and the committee are restricted in terms of time but I would have preferred a more substantial debate. Hopefully, we will have more opportunities in future.