Mr. Martin Le Jeune:

I support the point of view expressed by Mr. Ó Ríordáin, namely, that it would have one major negative effect. It would mean that licensed companies within the Irish system would be prohibited from advertising while those outside the system would have an advantage over us, which would be to the detriment of Irish consumers. If I may risk once again referring to a UK comparison - and I know I have been called out on this before but I think it is valid - we instituted legal gambling advertising and continue to measure over ten to 15 years where that has existed levels of problem gambling among British consumers. They remain static. If it is assumed that there is some harm in gambling advertising, one would expect to see that reflected in the figures so it is difficult to see what the justification would be for prohibiting a perfectly normal form of commercial communication.