Sean Barrett (Independent) | Oireachtas source

There is one aspect the Minister of State might discuss with his officials before Report Stage. Some of these fellows exist in the cloud. The Minister, Deputy Michael Noonan, had to amend the Finance Act to make corporations declare a residence, although they had an extra year to decide where they would like to be resident. In this case, the important point is that we are not quite sure where the gambling organisation is located, but we do know that the customer is in this jurisdiction. Therefore, one of the ways this issue could be controlled is by saying: "Wherever you are located, you are told that in this jurisdiction there has to be a warning given before a person engages in electronic gambling." Perhaps it is too strong to draw the parallel, but Al Capone was caught for income tax fraud, rather than for his more nefarious crimes. Senator Gerard P. Craughwell's amendment would affords the Minister of State an opportunity to control the activity from the customer's end, as well as trying to do so from the producer's end. I am sure the Government will take the opportunity provided.