Joan Burton (Dublin West, Labour) | Oireachtas source

I raised this issue with the Taoiseach earlier today and he made it clear that his interest and the interest of the Government is in the 25% for charity. The Minister of State has obtained the agreement of the House for that but he is imposing these rules without knowing how costs are structured in this business, whether games are run by voluntary organisations, semi-professional organisations, or professional organisations. He is tying a noose around his own neck because, in a commercial operation, hiring a hall, advertising a game, and employing staff might easily run to a significant percentage of takings whereas if it was an entirely voluntary local thing, those costs may be far lower because people are giving their services voluntarily. The Minister of State is not trying to ban the semi-commercial lotteries which people outside the gate were talking about yesterday but, if he wants his 25% for charity, he should stick with that.

If needs be, why not commission a study of profit margins and earnings in the industry so that the Minister of State and his officials actually know what they are talking about and can tell us the sensible thing to do? The Minister of State has no basis for his figures of 25%, 25% and 50%, or 40% and 35%. The Minister of State does not know, as he has just told us.

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