Mary Butler (Waterford, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

Fianna Fáil is committed to socially responsible gambling. This legislation has the double objective of effectively regulating the expanding gambling sector that has emerged in recent years, while also protecting vulnerable adults and young people. The legislation updates the previous heads of Bill published in 2013 but never moved by the then Government. After half a decade, the time is now. This problem is silently destroying lives. We need effective regulation for this industry to give those who work in the sector certainty through socially responsible gambling. We are committed to working with the industry to build this new framework, but the time for action has long since passed. Legislative action is now needed.

More than anything else, an inability to control one's behaviour characterises an addiction problem. In a very real sense, gambling becomes an obsession in a person's life, taking on greater and greater importance the longer the addiction persists. More than 40,000 people in Ireland are known to have a gambling addiction, with single men under 35 most at risk according to a UCD study. Problem gamblers spend more time gambling or thinking about gambling, and it can become extremely difficult to maintain a normal family life. This creates stress and has a negative impact on relationships and family life. Families usually have more arguments over money, and they can be hounded by debt collectors.

The availability of online gambling now makes gambling available to all, at any time, day or night, anywhere a person can go online. It also means that in a lot of cases gambling can be secret, and huge debts can be incurred very quickly. The growing size and intensity of the gambling sector makes this Bill a priority. Protecting vulnerable gamblers and individuals is a key component of this legislation, and I would also like to commend my colleagues, the three Deputies who brought the Bill forward. Deputies Anne Rabbitte, Jack Chambers and Jim O'Callaghan are all stationed on the corridor beside me, so I have been listening to conversation about this gambling Bill for a long time. I would also like to commend Deputy Anne Rabbitte for holding several public meetings on this.

See this speech in context