David Cullinane (Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

When introducing the 1986 legislation, the Minister of the day spoke of the need for public trust and confidence in the operation of a State lottery. In that respect, we have been served well by An Post. The Minister referred to EU competition law. In extending the term of the current contract by 18 months, did he breach EU competition law and, if not, why can the contract not be extended for a longer period?

One of the hooks on which the Minister is trying to sell this deal, if it can be described in such terms, is that we can front-load capital funding for the national children's hospital. The best way to fund hospital building projects, including the new national children's hospital, is to ensure we have sufficient tax revenue to pay for them. For this reason, Sinn Féin has put forward proposals to increase taxation. Our proposals include the introduction of third rate of tax of 48% on income in excess of ¤100,000 per annum, which is similar to a proposal made by the Labour Party when it was in opposition. This is but one of many examples of ways to fund capital projects and most certainly not the means by which some health capital projects have been funded in recent times. Documents leaked recently by RTE showed what was taking place in the south east in respect of the funding of capital projects. I do not see how any of what is proposed can be reconciled with the Government's new politics or described as a new departure from the way things were done in the past.

I am concerned about the reason the Government has adopted this approach. It appears to be a case of generating as much cash as possible without considering the long-term consequences of its actions. This is not good governance or something we should support. When Labour Party Senators indicate they have genuine concerns about the legislation - I am not trying to score political points - it is incumbent on the Minister to listen.

I support the Independent Senators and welcome their decision to raise this important issue and afford us an opportunity to discuss it.