David Norris (Independent)

As the Minister is the local involved, I will not waste too much time on the issue. I also enjoyed his wonderful mixed metaphors about the ship of State needing to be bailed out and then building a children's hospital on it. I do not think I would build a children's hospital on a ship that was sinking.

The Minister has said this is something absolutely routine; why, therefore, do we need new legislation? Why do we refer to the extraordinarily difficult economic position and use words such as "innovative" and so on? Clearly, there is something new. A linguistic analysis of what the Minister has said will show that there is something new happening. There is no question or doubt about it.

The national lottery is a success story, of which I am part because I have contributed to it since it started. I am a lottery addict. I have won three times - €11, €17 and €400 - and estimate my investment at about €15,000. I regard it as a form of tax and I am delighted with most of the places to where the money goes, but I do remember analysing on one occasion and discovering that in every single county the largest beneficiary was the GAA. I was not sure how appropriate that was. Perhaps it was, but the GAA already has very substantial sources of income and I would prefer to see the money going to organisations which are less well resourced.

I compliment Senator Marie-Louise O'Donnell on a brilliant, eloquent and witty speech. It was superb and a credit to this House. I do not think her friend, Senator Mary Ann O'Brien, need to feel diffident in seconding it. She raised another important issue, namely, that of small traders and post offices. We must put the human element first. That is what is wrong all over Europe - we have put the preservation of the system before the general interests of the community.

This is not about selling the family silver, although I wish to God it was, as we could always buy more silver. It is much more like selling one of the tractors on a farm that is barely able to keep going. This is an income generating system and a licence to print money.