Anne Rabbitte (Galway East, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I welcome the opportunity to speak on Report Stage. I will lump all my remarks into one contribution because I do not wish to hold matters up. I did my own research before coming into the House tonight. Unlike Deputy Healy-Rae, my research indicated that people who organise community bingo games have to have the money laid out in advance. They have to know what it will cost them to run a community bingo game.

In my research I found that the cost of a double book, which would fall under the lottery permit and the maximum price of a ticket, would be €10. The cost of a single book is €7 and a baby book is €4. A person pays €3 for the gamble and €3 for the jackpot. If the organiser happens to have 100 people sitting in the parish hall, he or she is running the bingo at a loss. Technically, the payout for the night would be €1,590 but the organiser's income on the night is only €1,510. This does not take into consideration the heat, insurance and rent. Straight away the organiser is down €320. If, however, the organiser manages to bring in 150 people, the income is now at €2,175 and he she can break even and have a profit of €160. Portumna Rugby Club runs bingo nights and we would be delighted to see 150 to 200 people at it. Loughrea Rugby Club also runs its own bingo nights and it too would be delighted to see 200 people. When 200 people sit in the room, the income is €2,900 and the organiser can make a little profit and have something to buy the jerseys with.

Out of every week's income €100 must always be left aside for the jackpot. This is where I want some clarification from the Minister of State. Perhaps it is different from Deputy Scanlon's point, but some community groups do not put a limit on it. As the jackpot gets larger, the crowd gets bigger. When the jackpot hits €5,000, for example, the bingo night could attract more than 250 people. Any parish hall or community would be delighted to see 250 people coming into the community once a week. When they come in, they are also stopping, shopping and using the Local Link and so on. Will the Minister of State clarify what would happen if the prize funds start to go over or accumulate? Has this been thought out and can we have clarification?

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