John Whelan (Labour) | Oireachtas source

I welcome the Minister to the House. I am grateful for him coming to the House to take this motion in person because it is an important matter.

I wholeheartedly support the spirit of the motion and I know Senator O'Donnell is genuine in her concerns and those concerns are not to be dismissed or taken lightly. I would like to be able to vote in favour of the motion but as the expression says, it is more than my job is worth, I would be expelled from the parliamentary party due to an archaic whip system which is an absurdity on a motion. The Seanad should be allowed a free vote on such matters, if only to express our concerns.

The expression "If it is not broken, why fix it?" comes to mind. The national lottery was well constructed and has worked well over decades. As the Minister pointed out, it has yielded a significant ¤4 billion for worthy and charitable causes. I am concerned we have hitched the lottery wagon to the national children's hospital, which the entire country is crying out for. We commend the Government for the progress it is making, for finally choosing a site and proceeding with the matter after years of prevarication and delay. Are we saying that if we do not get the correct bid and a bidder who pays the money upfront, we will not get the children's hospital? Did we really put all our eggs in the one basket? That is a danger attendant in this approach. While it is creative, it is risky because the Minister cannot foresee the outcome of the tendering process. If we do not get a bidder who is willing to put that kind of money upfront, does that mean we will not have the funds to build the children's hospital?