Mary Ann O'Brien (Independent)

I thank the Minister for that and I accept that Wexford Opera House was constructed using lottery funding. The finest and closest example of how to run a lottery is in the UK, where profits are paid into designated trusts and thereby protected from political interference. Unfortunately, that is not the position in Ireland. More often than not, the organisations that regularly receive national lottery funding in this country can be traced back to the constituencies of the holders of ministerial office.

I do not believe that any of the companies which are likely or possible buyers for the national lottery will be happy to operate in a climate where profits are distributed at the whim of politicians because this will always impede their marketing campaigns to harvest a greater spend by the public at large. I fully acknowledge that the Government is linking the sale of the national lottery to the funding of the new national's children's hospital. As someone with a keen and passionate interest in the welfare of children, I accept that there will potentially be an alternative cost if we do not sell the national lottery. If the choice is between just these two alternatives, then the hospital must be built. However, like Senator O'Donnell, I would like to be in the room with the Minister when this matter is dealt with because we have many ideas in respect of other alternatives.