Thomas Byrne (Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

No; I am suggesting something like the social welfare appeals office, which is independent of the Minister but is actually part of the Department of Social Protection administratively. As I understand it, staff are appointed by the Minister to be independent but the office is within the Department. The Minister could establish a smaller entity within a Department in an administrative sense. It would save costs, there would be no need to recruit staff, and the civil servant could possibly be given some other things to do. It is not that we are accusing people of corruption or suggesting they will act only in the interests of the lottery company or that they will do something wrong. Bank regulation is not the only example of regulatory capture. There are multiple examples of regulatory capture in various countries throughout the world. It is a natural consequence of having a regulator for one industry that he begins to see everything from the companies' point of view. I cannot see how the regulator could stay independent if his entire life is dedicated to discussions with the lottery company unless he has the opportunity to talk to colleagues within the Department and get a different view. Such a person would be single-minded and would believe he is doing the right thing, but I can see it ending badly. I do not mean in an unlawful or corrupt way or anything like that, but it is the natural order of things that regulators inevitably know too much about the market and too much about the bodies they regulate and simply become less independent as a result.