Mattie McGrath (Tipperary, Independent) | Oireachtas source

The Gambling Regulation Bill, if enacted, will create significant changes in how gambling is regulated. In particular it will bring about some changes that are badly needed. It will establish a gambling regulatory authority of Ireland to ensure gambling is conducted in a fair and transparent manner. When I see regulators and regulatory authorities, I have questions. We have many of them in many areas. They have brass plates on the walls and fancy offices but they do very little regulation. This is what I fear is what happens. They are like a flu the way they expanding. They are mushrooming.

The regulatory authority will mandate safeguards to counter problem gambling and ensure the protection of children. Most importantly, it will establish powers to regulate gambling advertising and provide the authority with enforcement powers in addition to licensing activities. The authority will also be given wide-ranging powers of enforcement. Tá súil agam gur sin an effect a bheidh aige but will it happen? These powers include the power to apply to the court for an audit to prevent or block access to remote or online services, and the power to carry out tests and audits on problem gambling services in an undisclosed manner. This is what we need. We need people who have the power to arrive and check on spec. One of its most significant powers will be the power to impose administrative financial sanctions. The amount of money being discussed with regard to sanctions is staggering. There will be sanctions of up to €20 million or 10% of turnover in the High Court.

The Bill passed pre-legislative scrutiny which is good. The grim reality in Ireland is that problem gambling is growing every year and the situation that is growing with young people is a great pity. Is mór an trua é. They have mobile phones when they are very young. We all know of many cases of perfectly responsible people in responsible jobs and businesses, such as managers of post offices and other places, who have fallen victim to this and ended up in misery for themselves, their families and their workplace. It has to be tackled. We are slow to come to the tackling.

All of the advertising from the big companies that comes on is bamboozling. I am here to represent the small one-man, two-man, man-and-wife or man-and-son local and small independent bookmakers. They go out every day to earn an honest day's pay. They know their clients. They know when something is wrong. They can confide with their clients and perhaps tell them they were unfortunate and they might need to have a look at themselves. They are in every town. I know many of them in Tipperary who work at the Clonmel track and race courses all over the county and ar fud na tíre.

Unfortunately the available data point to problem gambling growing here every year. According to the counselling group Extern Problem Gambling, the number of new visitors to its website has increased tenfold in the past six years. The political system has to be ahead of this. We are way behind and we have to catch up. This can follow people not only home but into their bedrooms, offices, back gardens and bars or restaurants when they go for a meal. We have to be able to deal with it. We have to have an organisation that has the power and staff that will work outside hours, break down the barriers and borders and do this.

They must have the support of An Garda Síochána and indeed of the community at large. We cannot allow big gambling houses to circumvent this legislation. As I said at the start of my contribution, we cannot have a regulator that has a brass plate on the wall and a fine, big office, but has little staff to monitor. We need staff who have expertise in this area. We can say that every division of An Garda Síochána must have a unit for this, that and the other, but this unit needs tax resources. If this regulation is passed, it will need to be implemented rigorously. I hope it will pass and I do not see any reason it would not. It has gone through pre-legislative scrutiny. I want to see, as I do in the case of all legislation, an impact analysis and an assessment within the first 12 to 15 months. That should deal with how this is bedding in, and look at whether it is having the desired effect and is protecting our young people especially.

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