Paul Murphy (Dublin South West, Solidarity) | Oireachtas source

I am here to speak about amendment No. 6 but I have listened to the debate and I am aware of the public commentary, discussion and so on about the bingo issue. I am in favour of increasing the amount that goes to charity to 25%, a change that makes all the sense in the world. I still do not quite understand why a maximum of 50% of the proceeds is to go to those who play bingo. A maximum is proposed, but if the running costs can be met with 5% of the money involved why can 70% of the proceeds not go back to the players? This would mean 25% would still go to charity and running costs can be taken out of the remaining 5%. If the amount can be topped up, why is the maximum not higher? Perhaps the Minister of State can clarify that.

When we are tackling this issue, it is important to distinguish between two different interest groups. One is the interests of those who play bingo and use it as an important community outlet. I am on their side and against anything that will impact on their ability to play bingo. The second issue involves a separate group of interests, namely, the large bingo companies. I accept that most of the bingo operators outside of the major cities do not exceed the €5,000 limit. Major corporations in Dublin have the money to hire PR companies and so on and have a separate interest to that of the players, namely, to minimise the amount that goes to charity and, therefore, to maximise their profits. We clearly have to take a stand against that.

On the broader issue, the Minister of State said that if someone has a gambling problem, he or she will spend and spend, and I take that point. The Government has reduced the figure which can be spent from €10 to €5, but that facilitates gambling. If there is a maximum bet per game of €5, which is 800 times the previous limit, multiple games can be played at one point in time, as a previous speaker said. A person could play five games a minute and play for an hour. In the course of an hour, he or she could spend €1,500. People with addiction problems can spend a large amount very quickly and go broke.

What the Minister of State proposes is wrong. I agree that €5 is better than €10, but I do not think the €5 limit is the answer. That is particularly true given that we have the highest gross gambling revenue per capitain Europe. We have up to 40,000 problem gamblers, yet we have no dedicated gambling addiction treatment service or gambling prevalence study, and there is no State agency dedicated to reducing gambling-related harm. This issue is being significantly underestimated and is not being tackled by the Government.

We have spoken about an element of the interests that exist within gambling, and there are much more significant interests at play than the average bingo company. They are making substantial profits in this country. We should not facilitate the exploitation of people who have addiction problems in the context of increased alienation, community fragmentation, poor mental health and the lack of Government investment in supports for people, which are, in some cases, being filled with addiction problems, including gambling.

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