James Browne (Wexford, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

Section 64 of the Bill provides for an amendment to the Freedom of Information Act 2014. The intention of the amendment in this Bill is that the members of the authority, staff of the authority, authorised officers of the authority, and the appeals panels, the appeals board, appeals officers and adjudication officers will be subject to the obligations of the Freedom of Information Act concerning their respective functions but only insofar as it relates to records on general administration. This means that records relating to matters to do with administration and operation of the authority such as expenditure, procurement contracts, human resources and so on will be subject to provisions of the Freedom of Information Act. This policy reflects the freedom of information obligations of An Garda Síochána, the Office of the Information Commissioner, and the Insolvency Service of Ireland. Records that do not relate to general administration would be exempt. A practical example of this is that the records concerning applications for licensing, charges imposed on licensees where they are related to turnover, investigations, adjudication processes, etc., would be exempt from the FOI Act.

As Deputies will appreciate, the authority will come into possession of a significant amount of information relating to applicants for new licences or those who wish to renew licences. In addition to personal data these records will contain information that is commercially sensitive. Records containing commercially sensitive information could not be released without risk to individuals and companies concerned, and especially as the information contained therein could be used to gain an unfair commercial or competitive advantage.

It is important to emphasise that as one of the customer safety measures in the Bill the register of licensees will be public and accessible. It will be clear to see who or what is licensed to provide gambling activities and related services. Deputies will also note that we will amend those sections of the Bill to provide that the register will include additional information concerning licensees and their operations.

With regard to the Bill's compliance and enforcement provisions the authority is likely to come into possession of or create a considerable number of records relating to the alleged suspected non-compliance by gambling licensees. These records may be relevant in the context of investigations and prosecutions. Deputies will appreciate that it would not be appropriate to have such records releasable under the Freedom of Information Act as this could potentially hinder, delay or frustrate the bringing of prosecutions. This would result in the erosion of public confidence in the effectiveness of the authority as a credible, robust and responsive regulator. As a comparator, the Garda Síochána Inspectorate has a freedom of information exemption with regard to records concerning inspections or inquiries that it carries out. As mentioned earlier, An Garda Síochána has an exemption from the Freedom of Information Act other than in relation to general administration. As such, records of investigations are also exempt. Records with regard to the charges imposed on individual licensees in order to fund the operational expense of the authority will similarly not be suitable for release. To do so would result in making commercially sensitive information publicly available. This would not just leave the licensee in a very vulnerable and unfair market position but the information could also be used to a inform or facilitate illegal activity by third parties.

It is envisaged that the authority will have a detailed and accurate website with information for licensees, for the applicants for licences, and for the general public. The authority will be obliged to submit its annual reports and annual accounts to the Minister. Such reports will be laid before both Houses. I believe that these reporting obligations in addition to the publication of the register of licensees and my proposed amendment to bring the authority and related entities under the scope of the National Archives Act 1986 will be an effective suite of measures to ensure adequate transparency. For these reasons I cannot accept the amendment to section 64.

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