Sandra McLellan (Cork East, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

This Bill deals with the new functions of the regulator. The Minister has failed to put into the legislation the necessary protections for the funding of good causes and for retailers who have been central to the success of the national lottery. No solid reason has been offered for the need to establish the office of a national lottery regulator. While the legislation does not deal with how the upfront payment is to be spent, the Minister has informed the House that it is to be used for the national children's hospital. We need this hospital; that is not in question. What is in question is this Government's commitment to children. Instead of making the children's hospital a capital expenditure priority, the Labour Party and Fine Gael have chosen to tie it up with the selling-off of the national lottery licence.

There is no official confirmation of what the upfront payment will be. Currently one third of the national lottery's sales provide funds for good causes. In 2011, the national lottery celebrated its 25th birthday, marking €12 billion in sales, with just under €4 billion going to good causes in the same period. This is an astonishing amount of money which has kept the doors open for community projects and sports facilities and has provided supports for the Irish language. Now more than ever, community organisations rely heavily on this funding stream. It is unacceptable for the Government to offer up a 20-year licence worth €12 billion without including a legislative clause to preserve the current 30% level of provision of funding for good causes.

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