Robbie Gallagher (Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

Today, I want to raise the plight of community, sporting and voluntary groups in our society. Unfortunately, their fundraising activity has been negatively impacted by Covid, which arrived on our shores last March. These groups are set for another serious hurdle as their lotto and bingo licences are due to expire in the coming months. The cost of these licences is significant to a local group, be it a GAA club, soccer club or any community organisation, with a renewal cost in excess of €500. This is a huge amount of money to a local GAA club or a community group that has been stood down since the outbreak of Covid and whose activity has been completely thwarted as a result. On foot of current indications that large gatherings will not happen for the remainder of this year, these GAA clubs and community organisations will have had no benefit whatsoever from the fee they paid for their licences. Consequently, with this in mind, will the Leader make contact with the relevant Minister to ensure these licences are extended for a period, taking account of the lack of activity for almost nine months? I am sure we in this room all agree that we owe a great debt of gratitude to all of our community organisations that have done such magnificent work for all of our citizens during the Covid outbreak. The least we can do now is use a bit of common sense and extend their licences for the local lotto or bingo, which is a significant fundraiser for that community, because ultimately we the community will be the beneficiaries of it.