Results 15,241-15,260 of 29,533 for speaker:Brendan Howlin

Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform: Select Sub-Committee on Public Expenditure and Reform: National Lottery Bill 2012: Committee Stage (27 Mar 2013)

Brendan Howlin: I assume we can brief the Deputies on a confidential basis.

Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform: Select Sub-Committee on Public Expenditure and Reform: National Lottery Bill 2012: Committee Stage (27 Mar 2013)

Brendan Howlin: I think it is set for 18 April.

Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform: Select Sub-Committee on Public Expenditure and Reform: National Lottery Bill 2012: Committee Stage (27 Mar 2013)

Brendan Howlin: I move amendment No. 25: In page 22, lines 22 and 23, to delete “the Regulator” and substitute “the Minister”.Given that any decision to determine additional objectives for national lottery funding shall be made by the Government, it is considered appropriate that the Minister, who is a member of the Government, shall be responsible for causing the publication of...

Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform: Select Sub-Committee on Public Expenditure and Reform: National Lottery Bill 2012: Committee Stage (27 Mar 2013)

Brendan Howlin: Yes.

Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform: Select Sub-Committee on Public Expenditure and Reform: National Lottery Bill 2012: Committee Stage (27 Mar 2013)

Brendan Howlin: Could I explain? The Deputy is correct that I, as Minister, will be issuing the first licence. It is my intention to preserve the margin payable to retailers at the current rate. That will be set in the licence. For the avoidance of doubt, the regulator will have the right to amend the license terms with the agreement in writing of the operator. He or she will not have the right to alter...

Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform: Select Sub-Committee on Public Expenditure and Reform: National Lottery Bill 2012: Committee Stage (27 Mar 2013)

Brendan Howlin: Correct.

Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform: Select Sub-Committee on Public Expenditure and Reform: National Lottery Bill 2012: Committee Stage (27 Mar 2013)

Brendan Howlin: I move amendment No. 28: In page 22, line 29, to delete “total” and substitute “minimum”.I am proposing this amendment to section 42. It is a particularly important section of the Bill as it deals with the sale of national lottery tickets. In subsection 42(1)(b) it is proposed to substitute the word “minimum” for the word "total". The Bill should...

Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform: Select Sub-Committee on Public Expenditure and Reform: National Lottery Bill 2012: Committee Stage (27 Mar 2013)

Brendan Howlin: At official level, we have had discussions with the management of the national lottery company and also with the management of An Post which is the employer of the majority of the staff. Many of them were on secondment with the right to return. Officials of my Department have had some discussions with trade union representatives and staff associations of the national lottery. These...

Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform: Select Sub-Committee on Public Expenditure and Reform: National Lottery Bill 2012: Committee Stage (27 Mar 2013)

Brendan Howlin: Yes.

Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform: Select Sub-Committee on Public Expenditure and Reform: National Lottery Bill 2012: Committee Stage (27 Mar 2013)

Brendan Howlin: I move amendment No. 29: In page 23, line 7, to delete “by all means available including” and substitute “through”.In subsection 42(5) it is proposed to delete the words “by all means available including” and substitute the word “through”. This is considered a more precise wording. The subsection provides that the operator of the...

Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform: Select Sub-Committee on Public Expenditure and Reform: National Lottery Bill 2012: Committee Stage (27 Mar 2013)

Brendan Howlin: I fully appreciate what Deputy Heather Humphreys has said. Unfortunately, however, the way the world is, more and more business is being done online. There was a time when, if one wanted to buy an airline ticket, one went to a travel agency but very few do so now. Such tickets are bought online and that is the way of the world. Looking at the horizon, God knows what will be available via...

Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform: Select Sub-Committee on Public Expenditure and Reform: National Lottery Bill 2012: Committee Stage (27 Mar 2013)

Brendan Howlin: They are effectively online casinos.

Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform: Select Sub-Committee on Public Expenditure and Reform: National Lottery Bill 2012: Committee Stage (27 Mar 2013)

Brendan Howlin: I do. I have Sky at home although I should perhaps not refer to individual channels. I find it disconcerting to see it. One gets a free starter bet and one is off, apparently. I do not gamble either. I do not even back horses. I am sure I have many faults, but that is not one of them. I do not particularly like gambling. Deputy Humphreys and, in more explicit terms, Deputy Fleming...

Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform: Select Sub-Committee on Public Expenditure and Reform: National Lottery Bill 2012: Committee Stage (27 Mar 2013)

Brendan Howlin: I will not say they will be exactly the same. Some of them are cumbersome such as requiring the provision of one's passport in the post. We will have to be smarter. While I do not wish to think aloud, it may be that we can use pps numbers to verify age. I would prefer that. These are the sorts of things on which we are working.

Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform: Select Sub-Committee on Public Expenditure and Reform: National Lottery Bill 2012: Committee Stage (27 Mar 2013)

Brendan Howlin: No. I am confident we will have robust structures in place for the lottery. My fear relates to everything else that is out there.

Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform: Select Sub-Committee on Public Expenditure and Reform: National Lottery Bill 2012: Committee Stage (27 Mar 2013)

Brendan Howlin: And a guaranteed payout.

Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform: Select Sub-Committee on Public Expenditure and Reform: National Lottery Bill 2012: Committee Stage (27 Mar 2013)

Brendan Howlin: I move amendment No. 31: In page 23, line 13, to delete "shall not,".Amendments Nos. 31 and 32 purely deal with drafting issues and involve providing that the words "shall not" come after rather than before the sub-clause.

Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform: Select Sub-Committee on Public Expenditure and Reform: National Lottery Bill 2012: Committee Stage (27 Mar 2013)

Brendan Howlin: I move amendment No. 32: In page 23, line 14, after "offers," to insert "shall not,".

Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform: Select Sub-Committee on Public Expenditure and Reform: National Lottery Bill 2012: Committee Stage (27 Mar 2013)

Brendan Howlin: I move amendment No. 33: In page 23, between lines 22 and 23, to insert the following:"(11) The defence provided for in subsection (10) shall apply to a person, including An Post National Lottery Company, who sells a ticket (including by way of interactive channels) while the licence granted to that company under the National Lottery Act 1986 is in force.".This is a significant amendment to...

Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform: Select Sub-Committee on Public Expenditure and Reform: National Lottery Bill 2012: Committee Stage (27 Mar 2013)

Brendan Howlin: That is a good question. We expect that whoever wins the franchise will be motivated to operate it in a successful way. The licence will set out performance criteria and if it becomes manifest that the operator is no longer interested in running the lotto in a way that generates significant funds we will be able to cancel the licence on performance grounds. That would be an extreme...