Martin Mansergh (Fianna Fail)

Racecourses are fairly boring places unless one has an interest in the outcome. What the Minister said about family groups is absolutely right. I am sure there are cases of people in their late teens going in groups and these days the money they have is probably mostly money they have earned. However, I can think of many other ways in which that money might be spent which could create more problems than placing a small bet.

Gambling takes a number of forms and Senator Cummins is quite right that it can be a serious problem and can be addictive both among older and younger people. I fully approved of the ban on slot machines in Dublin city and I believe it helped remove a problem. However, race meetings, by their nature, only take place at intervals and are a controlled environment and one must pay an entry fee. The scope for abuse is, in practice, not too great.

Life is full of anomalies and I do not believe it is necessary to get rid of every anomaly. The report suggested that the reason this is an issue is that for the sake of consistency, this should be addressed. If there was evidence that we were addressing a serious social problem, I would be much more sympathetic. We are all fairly middle aged here, with all due respect to Senator McHugh, and we do not want to give the impression we are always trying to close down things for young people. Attendance at a racecourse is one of the most harmless and enjoyable occupations. It can be enjoyable for a child of eight or ten and I presume Senator Cummins went to racecourses at that age.

I am prepared to remit to the wisdom of the Minister who, along with his Department, will have studied the report. If legislation is to be introduced on foot of the report, then it should deal with several matters rather than this one in isolation. When introducing legislation, one must make the case and I do not believe it has been made.