Emer Currie (Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

The Minister of State is very welcome. It is a testament to the legislation that so many Senators want to contribute on Second Stage.This is flagship legislation from this Government. We have reached the point where we are getting into the nitty-gritty; we are in the final stretch. It is now about tying it all together. The construct is in place and the support is there. I hope we are now at the point of tying up loose ends. The hardest thing the Minister of State has to do right now is probably to distinguish between activities that drive problem gambling and those that do not and to make sure revenue from responsible fundraising is protected.

In general, I am strongly in favour of the legislation. We have to provide protections from what has essentially become a betting shop or casino in a person's pocket. Over the past 15 years, gambling has become normalised. I say that as somebody who worked on advertising pitches for gambling companies when I worked in advertising and marketing when I was younger before I fully understood the extent of the damage that the advertising, marketing and accessibility of gambling does. The company I worked for was not successful, but the essential purpose of those advertising briefs was to turn the betting shop from a retail space that was taboo to enter into a welcoming and open place. They have normalised gambling to such an extent that we are now seeing massive profits in the sector.

Gambling is a highly addictive behaviour. We need sensible protections against it. The status quocannot continue. We must address the imbalance that has been created. There has to be a cultural shift and parameters have to be put on gambling. Of course, we are not going to go from one extreme to the other. As already stated, this is about targeting activities that result in problem gambling rather than the likes of bingo or benevolent betting. One in 30 adults have a gambling problem while a further 7.1% show moderate evidence of problem gambling. Irish people have the fourth highest gambling losses in Europe and the fourteenth globally.

The Minister of State has been kind enough to facilitate a meeting with Gambling with Lives for my office. The organisation was set up in Northern Ireland and the UK. Parents and families who have been affected by the loss of loved ones as a result of gambling came together and have done brilliant work in increasing awareness and educating people, but the organisation needs a foothold to continue to do that. It needs support and the social impact fund presents an opportunity for the group. How quickly will the social impact fund be up and running? It is really important that the fund be independent and have absolutely no engagement whatsoever with the industry. It must be driven by people and organisations who are going to put money into research, awareness, education and prevention and undo the harm that has been done over the last two decades. That social impact fund has to be completely transparent to gain the confidence of the Committee of Public Accounts and everyone else.

On fundraising, St. Francis Hospice in Blanchardstown was recently designated as a section 39 body. It was formerly been a section 38 body. It depended on fundraising to cover core services. I wish to flag with the Minister of State that we must ensure that such organisations are supported. They either should not have to rely on fundraising to such an extent or their fundraising efforts should be protected. I am not entirely clear on the limits that have been mentioned, whether they form part of the primary legislation and how extensive they are. Some clarity on that would be good.

Obviously, extensive powers are provided for in the legislation. It is at a critical stage. I fully support what is being done but the Minister of State should not underestimate how important it is to get the balance right. On reading the legislation, it certainly looks like we are heading in the right direction.