Patrick O'Donovan (Limerick, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

This is becoming a bit of a tradition for me when I stand up to speak. Not only was the Minister for the Environment, Community and Local Government in the position of speaking on legislation in the House in which the Opposition benches were empty, this must be the fifth or sixth time when I have done so. I have raised this before. it shows the height of disrespect to the House. I know it is a procedural matter but Opposition spokespersons should at least show courtesy to the presence of the Minister of State, to the House itself, to the legislation coming before the Dáil and more importantly, to the industry itself.

This industry creates and sustains thousands of jobs across the country. There are waves of empty seats here on the Opposition side and there is no interest being shown in it These are the same people who disrupted business this morning on a procedural issue for things that were discussed at committees. It makes a total farce out of the operation of the House if we do not have the co-operation of the Opposition. There are about half a dozen Whips over there and they are all in receipt of allowances. It flies in the face of what parliamentary democracy is supposed to be about. It is supposed to be a two-way street, and that is very unfortunate.

This is an important Bill in every constituency because there is not a town or a village in Ireland that does not have a bookmaker. There is practically no county that does not have a racetrack for horses - I know you have a great affinity for that industry, a Cheann Chomairle - or for greyhounds. In Limerick we are very fortunate to have two outstanding facilities for horse racing and greyhounds. The focus in this Bill is on the funding of the horse and greyhound industry and the difficulties that they have sustained over a number of years, but there is a bigger issue here in respect of the funding of sport in its entirety, including facilities. I welcome the fact that the Government has brought forward a new round of national lottery funding this year but this Bill goes some way to addressing the shortfall of funding that is available for the horse and greyhound industry in particular. We know that the Bill is primarily targeted at the creation of two new licences for remote bookmakers and remote betting intermediaries. That captures a type of betting that heretofore was not captured, and it is a good thing that they can brought under the remit of the Bill.

The number of jobs being sustained by the industry is staggering. It is a €1 billion industry for horse racing alone, sustaining over 17,000 people in employment, and about 11,000 people work in the greyhound industry. There are facilities all over the country, in which the State has made a huge investment. If there was a Bill for any other industry that was worth so much, the Opposition might show a bit more interest in it.

One aspect that concerns me - I know the Minister will take it on board - is in respect of problem gambling. The Bill does address it as it is under the remit of the Department of Justice and Equality but perhaps the Minister of State might bear in mind the concern about people who show above normal levels of gambling activity. It is a very difficult social ill for many people. The industry is behaving responsibly and does its best to watch out for people. However, it has created problems in many homes across the country and I ask that in future, discussions between the Minister of State's Department and the Department of Finance and the Department of Justice and Equality would focus on this issue to alleviate problems before they arise. For many people it is a very unfortunate addiction, but at the same time it is a fabric of what we are as Irish people that we have a great affinity for sport. In rural areas, we have a great affinity for the horse and greyhound industry. The revenue that heretofore remained outside the ambit of the legislation and was uncollected should go some way to ensure that the industry can be developed.

Deputy Brian Walsh and I raised the issue of opening hours a while back, on behalf of bookmakers across the country, in order to provide a level playing field. Where a bookmaker might close at 6.30 p.m. while an online operation could continue through the night, we now have some parity of esteem. However, the main thrust of the Bill is to bring in revenue that could not be collected until now, and to bring in operations that are in a vacuum under a legislative umbrella. It will allow for increased funding to be made available to both the horse and greyhound industry, but as I said at the outset, there is a bigger issue in respect of the funding of sport and rural pursuits especially. I ask that the Minister and the Minister of State bear that in mind.

I will finish by noting the empty seats of Fianna Fáil, Sinn Féin and the Technical Group, and their interest in the horse and greyhound industry, the gambling issue and the betting issue.

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