Charles Flanagan (Laois-Offaly, Fine Gael)

The Minister has been allowed particular latitude. I will briefly sum up what he said. He said that he has an open mind on the matter. According to correspondence to his two colleague Ministers, the former Deputy, Martin Cullen, and Deputy Coughlan, he is minded in a certain direction which is far from open. He said that no legislation is on the horizon but, nevertheless, he confirmed that his Department is engaged in a review of the gaming laws. The sole objective of such a review is the introduction of legislation. We now have a situation where the open-minded Minister, first, is seen by way of correspondence on departmental notepaper to be minded of a certain persuasion and, second, he is not in a position either on Question Time, in the course of this important debate or otherwise, to outline his views on it to the Dáil. He would have us believe his mind is so open as to be empty. The Minister is on record as outlining his support for a Las Vegas-style winter sports development in his constituency which includes-----

See this speech in context