Micheál Carrigy (Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I want to support the Bill. I am one of the 5,000 agents in the country who has been losing money for the last 20-odd years. In my case it is in the last 15 years as an agent of the national lottery because we do not earn any income from the sales and because the sales are being made in the bookies. The media has highlighted the significant amount - the €60 million-plus - that is lost to the good causes fund that distributes money throughout the country in areas of sport and health. That is what the focus of the legislation needs to be. That money is lost to the Exchequer which allows us pay out. In the last months we highlighted the €100 million or so that the Minister of State, Deputy Chambers, announced. Had we not the income from the national lottery, we would not have those funds. Therefore, I want to put on record my full support for the Bill.