Thomas Byrne (Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I move amendment No. 2:

In page 6, between lines 29 and 30, to insert the following:"4. The National Treasury Management Agency shall manage that portion of the proceeds from the sale of the National Lottery Licence designated for the National Children's Hospital.".

It goes to the heart of the Bill and our concerns about it that what we are relying on is a promise from Government, and particularly from the Labour Party, to apply the funds generated from the sale of the national lottery to the construction of a children's hospital, which has been delayed for various reasons. The question that arises is: can we believe this promise? The record shows that the Government cannot be trusted when it comes to promises made. Why can this provision not be written into the legislation?

The proposed amendments refer at least to the purpose of this sale of the national lottery licence. What will happen to the money derived from the sale if a financial emergency arises during the summer? One may well arise, given that we have been told Anglo Irish Bank may require additional capital when assets are realised and that there may well be other capital calls on the banks. There is no legal commitment to use this money for the construction of the children's hospital. It could well be that the people are being sold a pup, namely, that this licence is being sold and no provision is being made, legally or otherwise, for that money to be utilised for the construction of the children's hospital. We have to take the word of the Minister in this regard, which is not believed by the public. That is an unfortunate political reality. The broken promises have been rehearsed on numerous occasions.

In proposing these amendments we are seeking to ensure that the money will go to the construction of the children's hospital and that the National Treasury Management Agency be designated with responsibility in this regard. We are also seeking that the Minister bring forward a report in regard to the ring-fencing of that money. We believe this is critical. What we are seeking may not even go far enough but it is important to highlight the significant absence of such provision from the legislation. I will push this to a vote because I believe this provision is central to the legislation. While four years ago I would have advocated something along the lines of privatisation of the national lottery - it is opportune to do this now given that the current licence will soon expire - as a means of generating funds for capital purposes, that is not what the legislation will do. That is unfortunate and it is a missed opportunity.