Results 8,281-8,300 of 20,057 for speaker:Brian Stanley

Public Accounts Committee: Financial Statements 2021: National Lottery Fund (24 Nov 2022)

Brian Stanley: Yes.

Public Accounts Committee: Financial Statements 2021: National Lottery Fund (24 Nov 2022)

Brian Stanley: Okay. Did Deputy Carroll MacNeill have one quick question before we break?

Public Accounts Committee: Financial Statements 2021: National Lottery Fund (24 Nov 2022)

Brian Stanley: I suggest, if it is possible, that we get that figure before the end of the meeting-----

Public Accounts Committee: Financial Statements 2021: National Lottery Fund (24 Nov 2022)

Brian Stanley: -----as a communication back to the office or, if not, that it is followed up on.

Public Accounts Committee: Financial Statements 2021: National Lottery Fund (24 Nov 2022)

Brian Stanley: We will have a second round after the break. We have to watch it because some Deputies are tied up with other duties but they will appear later That is generally what happens. We will take a short ten-minute break and then resume.

Public Accounts Committee: Financial Statements 2021: National Lottery Fund (24 Nov 2022)

Brian Stanley: This was requested by Deputy Carroll MacNeill. I will come in with some questions. On the comparison with other lotteries, I understand the British lottery has a different system for unclaimed prizes. After 180 days, the money is distributed to different organisations and bodies in the community. Was Ms Boate aware of this?

Public Accounts Committee: Financial Statements 2021: National Lottery Fund (24 Nov 2022)

Brian Stanley: Would that be a good system to have here? Would it be a good measure to bring in here?

Public Accounts Committee: Financial Statements 2021: National Lottery Fund (24 Nov 2022)

Brian Stanley: According to the figures provided by Ms Boate this morning and in the briefing, between 27% and 28.5% of what is given out goes back into the community. That is the figure.

Public Accounts Committee: Financial Statements 2021: National Lottery Fund (24 Nov 2022)

Brian Stanley: In the understanding of the public, and in my understanding, it is between 27% and 28.5%. That is the variation in the figures. We will accept that. It is the understanding of committee members as well. We have ascertained from the report of the Comptroller and Auditor General, which we did not know until the report was published, that there was more than €120 million in unclaimed...

Public Accounts Committee: Financial Statements 2021: National Lottery Fund (24 Nov 2022)

Brian Stanley: We accept the figures we have been given by Ms Boate. I want to separate two matters. One is that from the operation of the lottery and in terms of what is claimed and everything else, we know that between 27% and 28.5% goes to good causes. We accept that. We will park that for a minute. I am asking a different question about unclaimed prize money. There is more than €20 million...

Public Accounts Committee: Financial Statements 2021: National Lottery Fund (24 Nov 2022)

Brian Stanley: I have looked at the accounts for two years of Premier Lotteries Ireland. I will come back to that in a minute.

Public Accounts Committee: Financial Statements 2021: National Lottery Fund (24 Nov 2022)

Brian Stanley: I have looked at Premier Lotteries Ireland. I will come back to that. I am sure it has an advertising budget within that without going near the unclaimed prize money.

Public Accounts Committee: Financial Statements 2021: National Lottery Fund (24 Nov 2022)

Brian Stanley: It would have. It has substantial administration. I will come to that in a second. Ms Boate has read the report of the Comptroller and Auditor General on the national lottery.

Public Accounts Committee: Financial Statements 2021: National Lottery Fund (24 Nov 2022)

Brian Stanley: Is she aware that the operator may have threatened the Comptroller and Auditor General legally to block the publication of the report? Is that correct?

Public Accounts Committee: Financial Statements 2021: National Lottery Fund (24 Nov 2022)

Brian Stanley: Okay. Apparently there are reports of that.

Public Accounts Committee: Financial Statements 2021: National Lottery Fund (24 Nov 2022)

Brian Stanley: Okay. How long has Ms Boate been aware of the substantial unclaimed prize money of €20 million a year. Is she aware of that year-on-year?

Public Accounts Committee: Financial Statements 2021: National Lottery Fund (24 Nov 2022)

Brian Stanley: She is. Okay.

Public Accounts Committee: Financial Statements 2021: National Lottery Fund (24 Nov 2022)

Brian Stanley: The terms of the licence are what they are but I find it strange that the regulator's office did not highlight this at any point in the past six years and try to change matters so that money would go in a different direction.

Public Accounts Committee: Financial Statements 2021: National Lottery Fund (24 Nov 2022)

Brian Stanley: Would that not have been good information to have out there for the public who play the national lottery and fund it?

Public Accounts Committee: Financial Statements 2021: National Lottery Fund (24 Nov 2022)

Brian Stanley: Hold on a second. The advertising for the national lottery is saturation advertising. The operator is not so short of money for advertising that it needs to get 98% of unclaimed prizes to do it. That is not a credible answer. I will come to the operator's accounts in a minute. It has substantial funding in respect of its operational costs. It is not credible that it would also need 98%...