Michael Healy-Rae (Kerry, Independent) | Oireachtas source

On a point of order, if that is allowed, on the record of the Dáil today, the Taoiseach made a statement concerning this proposed legislation. What he said showed one of two things. He was either misleading the Dáil, and I would not like to think that he purposely did that, or he did not understand what is being proposed by this Bill. I say that because what the Taoiseach stated earlier was that what the Minister of State is proposing will not affect bingo and will not close down bingo halls. That is factually incorrect. If the Minister of State does what he is proposing to do, that will have a detrimental effect on the running of bingo operations and games because it is reducing by at least half the funding that can be made available for prizes and jackpots, lines across, full boxes and full houses. The Taoiseach, therefore, either misled the Dáil or he did not understand the implications of what is being proposed.

I hope the Minister of State understands the implications of the legislation he is proposing. The people who run bingo, whether it is a small, medium or large operation, are of the opinion that what the Minister of State is doing is detrimental to the game of bingo. If were to live forever, I would not understand why the Minister of State would want to attack a sector of society composed of people minding their own business and who just want to play the game of bingo. My God, those people were outside of these Houses yesterday and they were the most respectable people in the world. I want the Minister of State to clarify this before we go one bit further, because the Taoiseach was wrong in what he said today.

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