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

I am glad to have the opportunity to speak about this Bill. Like all of us who have been elected to this House, we know that gambling addiction causes problems that lead to the breakup of marriages, homes and relationships and clean out businesses and farms. It is like everything; if you do it in moderation, it is fine. As with a few drinks or any substance, a little bit in moderation is fine. When it takes over, becomes an addiction and becomes compulsive, gambling can be a serious problem in many households. It has left many wives short of money at the end of the week to provide food and to look after the children in the family unit. It leaves them short of many different things. It puts their homes and their houses in jeopardy and it can end up at a point where they lose their homes. It is very sad when people who have done well and worked so hard for many years to acquire or build a home, a business or a farm see it go under the hammer because of their addiction.

I am very worried about online gambling. This Bill includes the provision of betting licences, gaming licences and lottery licences, which are for in-person gambling activities and for gambling activities offered by remote means. That is the part of it I am worried about. I do not know how that can be controlled, but it should be controlled. It is ridiculous to think that people can bet away until a late hour at night, maybe after they have had a few drinks. If they were working during the day, they may not have the time to do that.

I welcome the section of the Bill that continues to provide for exemptions from the requirement to hold a gambling licence for certain small-stake lotteries, such as those that help charities. Many GAA clubs run a weekly lotto. When I was in Gneeveguilla last night, I saw a group from the committee running off its lotto. They put work into that to provide funding for the necessary activities in their great club. That has been replicated right around Kerry in all the small clubs which do not get the necessary funding. It is the only way. They work hard at it and an awful lot of work goes into it. It is just €2 to buy a ticket. They collect a lot of money, and more power to them. We must allow that to continue.

In the time I have left, I will say that on the ground the grim reality in Ireland is that problem gambling is growing every year. How do we tackle that? A body such as the HSE should have enough funding available to help people who have developed a gambling addiction to be treated. It should talk to them, try to come around to them and do whatever is necessary. A health research report into problem gambling in Ireland has highlighted the lack of specific services for gambling addiction being provided by the HSE.

These data show the need for dedicated treatment provision for those with gambling problems.

Unfortunately, this legislation does nothing to address the chronic lack of addiction support services. In addition, education is needed and awareness must be raised on a national scale, especially with teenagers in our schools, to counter the proliferation and normalisation of gambling here. The report found the most common type of gambling was buying a lottery ticket. I do not think that buying a lottery ticket is a problem. It is like everything in that it is fine if it is done in moderation but if it is done on a continuous basis, it is not fine.

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