Tony Kett (Fianna Fail)

I welcome the Minister of State and congratulate him on his well-merited appointment. I wish him well in his post. I have followed his record and he is doing a fine job.

I thank Senator Cummins for introducing this Bill. While we may disagree with it on this side of the House, I admire the strength of his feeling on the issue and acknowledge his right to introduce the Bill. There is an anomaly in the 1929 Act which states that a child under 18 years of age may bet on the tote at a racetrack but not on or off course in a bookmaker's shop, and many not buy a lottery ticket. Whether we want to do something about this or believe it is necessary to do so is another issue.

This Bill is a result of an analysis by an interdepartmental group of the gaming and lotteries legislation 1956-86. The group stated in its report that it was not part of its remit to refer to this, apart from considering consistency within the law. If a group attempts to make an issue out of something it will at least investigate its effects on children if that is relevant. The group stated that it did not do that. Its views are based on the whole debate, not on any one issue of real concern. While it may be concerned about this it cannot back that up with any statistical value. There is no evidence that this anomaly causes, or is likely to cause, a problem.

Neither of the bodies that runs the events endorses this amendment because it will be impossible to police since the introduction of automatic vending machines. The organising bodies could not be held responsible for policing those machines. I have heard no call from parents or the public at large expressing concern about this issue.

Children up to the age of 15 years attend race meetings as family events where their parents supervise them. As one who enjoys a flutter and a race meeting, if I had to wait until I was 18 years of age to place my first bet I would never have supported the sport. I would not have known its joy.