David Norris (Independent) | Oireachtas source

On 6 February, Dublin District Court No. 23 had 16 applications for new gaming licence certificates on its list. When a certificate is issued by the court, an operator applies to the Revenue Commissioners for the necessary gaming licence. A licence must be issued for every gaming machine and the operator must have a separate licence for the premises, again issued by the Revenue Commissioners. The Revenue Commissioners' compliance manual, like District Court form 66.2, makes it clear that a gaming licence can only issue where Part III of the 1956 Act is in operation. If Part III of the Act is not in operation, as in Dublin city, a certificate should not issue and no licence should be issued. The Revenue Commissioners issue amusement machine licences under separate legislation.

Operating a gaming machine without the necessary licences is illegal. In spite of this, premises dotted around Dublin city centre openly operate hundreds of gaming machines and have been allowed to so operate with impunity for years. Many of these gaming premises openly advertise their operations. Across the country as a whole, tens of thousands of gaming machines are being operated illegally in cities and towns where Part III of the Act has not been adopted. The hundreds if not thousands of gaming machines operating in Dublin city and county are operated illegally as, with the exception of premises in Balbriggan and Skerries, no gaming licence can be issued in the capital. If there are between 18,000 and 28,000 machines in operation without the legally required gaming licence, as industry sources suggest, not only is the law being openly broken on a grand scale, but the State is being short-changed on annual licensing receipts.Allowing gaming schemes, many of which are being operated illegally in areas where Part III is not operable, to be licensed as amusement machines, in addition to allowing operators to dodge fees being applied to gaming machines, leaves the Revenue Commissioners open to some very uncomfortable questions about their attitude to upholding the law.

There is also the question of the lack of enforcement by An Garda Síochána. Why is it so coy about this? Why has it taken so long to take action? Why, in the operations that have taken place, were only a small proportion of the gaming machines in operation seized? Other than seizing machines, what further action will be taken? I have a series of questions for the Minister of State. In particular, it is clear that the operation of the 1956 Act is being openly flouted. There are thousands of illegally operated gaming machines in existence.