Brendan Howlin (Wexford, Labour) | Oireachtas source

I welcome this important Bill. These amendments are from the Seanad. We had a debate on the Bill in this House previously. Colleagues have stated that the Bill is not perfect, but it is urgently needed because it deals with one of the most pressing social issues.

I wish to raise one matter with the Minister of State on which he might provide clarity. I refer to the law relating to private members' clubs and why casino gambling has been permitted for so long. This is something we tried to address in the 2019 legislation, because these institutions exist not too far from this House. They were deemed to be private members' clubs open to members only and they seem to be immune from the law. That was the clear advice from the Attorney General when we raised this matter. That advice was recounted to the Dáil by the then Minister of State, Deputy Stanton, in 2019. I will not rehearse all of the detail, but it seems that the advice in question has vanished. It struck me at the time as an absurd notion that if you pay on your way into a private members' club, the law does not apply, so you can have unregulated gambling. On the same basis, if you set up a heroin den, the law presumably does apply even if it is a private members' club. As a result, you cannot set up such a den. The private clubs on St. Stephen's Green are subject to the licensing laws in the normal course of events. I want to be clear that these amendments and this Bill will apply to all private clubs. I do not know if the Minister of State can give an explanation as to why what was impermissible and unconstitutional the last time we addressed this is not now unconstitutional and is quite permissible.

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