David Norris (Independent) | Oireachtas source

The Minister has neatly batted away the two amendments we are discussing quite convincingly. The first was on the grounds that if a Government amendment is accepted, this matter will be resolved. That is fairly satisfactory, and one assumes that this Government amendment will pass. The second was because he does not have responsibility. It is not part of his ministerial responsibility so that seems to be that. However, I would make a couple of comments on what the Minister of State said. The national lottery gained €805 million last year, as I understand it, and I am sure I will be corrected if I am wrong. First, that shows there is an enormous amount of gambling going on in the country. It is a huge, vast sum of money. The usual little caveats are put in when advertising it, telling people to please gamble responsibly, which is a bit like telling people to please drink responsibly. There was €805 million and the Minister of State said that €225 million went on good causes. That leaves an enormous gap of nearly €600 million. Can the Minister of State tell us where this money goes? That is an enormous amount of money and it suggests that only about a quarter of the money generated goes to good causes. Therefore, three quarters go somewhere else. That is rather worrying.