Dominic Hannigan (Meath East, Labour) | Oireachtas source

The last speaker brought me back 30 years to when the national lottery was introduced and for some people the dogma is still there. The national lottery was a tremendous introduction to the country. It has benefited many different groups and will continue to do so despite some people's castigation as to the philosophy behind it. It is an institution that is very close to the hearts of many people. It is also close to the hearts of those people who play it and those groups that receive money from it. We all know of community groups that have received funding for projects that have brought tremendous benefits to the members of those groups and also to members of the general community. In recent years many groups in Louth and Meath, including the Meath Youth Federation, Foróige and St. Oliver's scout group in Drogheda, have received funding that has allowed them to provide better services for the young people who take part in their services. It has meant that the groups can provide better facilities to young people in communities where they are badly needed. As a result of this connection between the local groups and the local funding, we must be very sensitive about how we proceed with tendering for the new licence.

I wish to focus on two important elements of the national lottery - the retail margins and community funding. The Minister of State will be very aware that small traders are finding it very difficult in a tough environment at the moment. We must do everything we can to make it as easy as possible for them to come out at the other side of the recession. Under the current licence operated by An Post, retailers get approximately €6 from every €100 worth of lottery products sold. No details have been provided on how this will operate under the new tender, but many small retail groups have noted that the retail sales margin has been left out of the Bill and they are concerned about what that might mean for them. At this time of uncertainty we should give them some degree of certainty about their finances over the 20-year lifetime of this new tender. It would not be unfair to have uncertainty for retail outlets, planning their finances and wondering how they will get through the upcoming period. A commitment has been made to keep the margin at 6% and I hope the Government does its best to keep that commitment when the tender is released in coming months.

At the moment 30% of the income raised by the national lottery goes to groups that need funding. The Bill makes no provision for this to continue, which has raised concerns among many groups that the new operator might slash the funding made available to them, resulting in a reduction in the number of facilities that could be provided or a reduction in the number of groups that could be supported. It is very important that this percentage will be covered in the tender documents. Community groups need to be reassured that they will not lose out when we change the terms of this licence. We all know the front-loaded payment will go towards the new children's hospital and everybody in this House welcomes that proposal. However, we also need to ensure that community groups can continue to access funding over the 20 years of the licence. Many people play the lotto because they know the money raised will go to good causes. It is not all about becoming a millionaire or winning the lottery - people know that while they may not recoup their money in prizes, it is going to a good cause. That is why so many people play it and enjoy playing it. Any changes we make to it will stir up passions among people in this House and outside. I wish the Minister the best of luck with the tender process. We all agree it is in the best interests of the country to get the process right.

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