David Stanton (Cork East, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

As I said, it is intended to publish a Bill before the end of this Dáil session, which will be some progress. I am also frustrated at the lack of progress. We had five meetings, which I chaired. They were long detailed meetings and I was struck by the complexity and how far this area has developed in the last number of years. There were some very serious people around the table representing almost all Government Departments and agencies concerned with this issue. I have seen a draft copy of the report and it is quite detailed, long and involved.

While regulation is important and desirable and we will have it, it must be stressed that no amount of regulation can act as a panacea for problem gambling and gambling addiction. Even in a well-regulated jurisdictions, such as Britain, 0.8% of the population aged over 16 identified as problem gamblers in 2015. This underlines the fact that problem gambling and gambling addiction are ultimately public health issues. It is important colleagues understand that regulation will only go so far in assisting problem gambling and that addiction is a health issue.

See this speech in context