Seán Fleming (Laois-Offaly, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

The bonus was wrong as well.

I am always minded of the lottery when before it used to spin the wheel, Mr. Ronan Collins or whoever used be on always had this independent auditor from KPMG standing by to ensure everything was okay. In my constituency, anybody who saw this senior accountant there ensuring everything was right when the person went to spin the wheel asked what use he would be, that if the wheel did not spin, it is a technician one would want, not an accountant. They thought this guy was there to ensure the wheel spun properly. People view matters in extraordinary ways. They saw no need for the accountant but the need for a technician in case the wheel got stuck or whatever.

All those side-issues aside, this lottery regulatory is not needed at all. The Department has done a great job up to now and An Post has done a great job. I hope whoever will get the next licence will do equally as good a job. I do not know what that person will regulate because he or she will not be required to issue a licence for possibly 20 years. If there was ever a case of a new quango - I use that word and will return separately to sunset clauses with which we will deal later - not being required, this is the definitive one. The regulator is being set up with the job. There is nothing to do only watch the results every week, or every day or night, as the draws take place. If the Minister were looking at this again in the cold light of day, he would not even establish this regulator or else he would have the regulator in situ to run the competition. Because the latter is not happening, I see no need whatever for this regulator.

The Government will set up an office of independent regulator. He will have to report to an Oireachtas committee - the operator will have to do all that. There will be a head office. There will be lease agreements. It will be possibly amalgamated with other regulators to do with gambling when the time comes - that may never happen. If there was ever a case for the Minister to save money for the Irish taxpayer, he should let his Department carry on the good job it has been doing up to now in overseeing the lottery licences and overseeing the lottery operation, and forget about Part 3 of the legislation that deals with the regulator. I ask the Minister to continue to do the good work his Department has been doing. This is an unnecessary quango of no benefit. If one thought about why the Government is doing this, there is no good case for this lottery regulatory for the next 20 years.

See this speech in context