John O'Mahony (Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I welcome this opportunity to discuss the issue of gambling and its expansion. I commend Senator Craughwell and all the Independent Senators on bringing forward this motion. I welcome the Minister of State to the House. As has been said, he has a deep interest in this issue and wants to find solutions.

Gambling, in all its various guises, has increased and multiplied and is now literally in people's faces on a 24-hour cycle. It is far removed from going down to the local betting office, having a bet on a chosen horse and calling back later to see the results of the races on the window of the bookie's office. That is almost like a time warp. It is now at the stage where it is all about online and digital betting and livelihoods can be whittled away in secret unknown to friends and family members. Gambling is an addiction. It is unlike other forms of addiction in the sense that there are no visible signs until it is too late in many cases. We are all aware of the curse of alcohol and drugs but at least there are visible signs where people can be alerted to the difficulties people are in, but it is too late sometimes in the case of gambling. Careers, relationships and companies have been destroyed in the process. It is expanding at a rate of noughts in all directions.

We hear of match-fixing in sports. There have been investigations into soccer clubs in Ireland. High profile sportspeople and high performance elite athletes, particularly in the GAA, have recently told their stories of how they developed the addiction, their stealing of thousands of euros from their employers and their parents having to remortgage their family homes to bail them out. I commend the people who have come clean in their attempt to get their lives back in order,