Michael Noonan (Limerick City, Fine Gael)

These are the figures in the Estimate put together by the previous Government in the last budget in December 2010 for 2011. The Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform, Deputy Brendan Howlin, is negotiating with line Departments on the appropriate amount for each head for next year. In that context, he has had discussions with the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine. I am sure discussions included this issue. My responsibility is simply to enact legislation and it is up to the two other Ministers to decide what the expenditure should be. Up to now, the principle was that whatever was raised by the levy went into the fund. There was a shortfall and, instead of the Estimate of €47 million being raised, the fund dropped to €30 million. That was as a result of what happened in 2006, when the then Minister for Finance reduced the levy from 2% to 1% without applying a new tax to the online aspect of the betting industry which was then taking much of the activity. In the last Finance Bill, my predecessor sought to correct this but the correction was subject to separate legislation being brought in for on-line betting. Those sections in the Finance Bill would be implemented subjected to a ministerial order. The on-line betting Bill has not been produced yet and obviously the new Government will have to have sight of it before the issues of principle and detail in it are ratified. I will try to get things done quickly and, if possible, in advance of the budget.

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