Mary Ann O'Brien (Independent) | Oireachtas source

As our economic challenges continue to be a huge reality in the lives of parliamentarians, I wish to highlight what I believe is a piece of low-hanging fruit, dressed up as the betting legislation. I urge the Leader to have a chat with the Minister for Finance, Deputy Noonan, about the status of the legislation and to note that its passage is vital to the industry and for the revenue it can give the State. We all know from people we meet, especially younger people, that tax-free online betting is the way to go. Zero betting tax is achieved for the State from online betting. It is a major tax avoidance hole.

We must also take betting shops into consideration. When I first came to the House two and a half years ago I met many representatives of bookmakers. They were very worried then and they are much more worried now about their betting shops. The potential loss of 500 jobs would cost €6.3 million in betting duty, PAYE and PRSI to the State. If 500 jobs are lost that would mean a bill of €7 million in social welfare. We are losing approximately €23 million in online betting even before we get to the detail of the legislation and talk about percentages. I would be most grateful if the Leader could put the matter at the top of the Minister's agenda.