John O'Donoghue (Kerry South, Fianna Fail)

On behalf of the Minister for Finance, I thank Senator Feighan for allowing me the opportunity to set the record straight on this issue.

News of this matter first surfaced some weeks ago in media reports indicating that the National Lottery had downgraded some 60 lottery terminals countrywide. This is the case and it is regrettable that their number is up, so to speak. However, what may not be appreciated is that this occurred as part of an overall restructuring of the lotto terminal network. The position regarding lotto terminals and their availability following on from this exercise is much more positive.