Frances Black (Independent) | Oireachtas source

I apologise. Like amendment No. 79, amendment No. 81 seeks to provide participants with the ability to request, when making an application, to be added to the exclusion register so that they would be excluded from data profiling and personalised advertising for the duration of time on which they remain on the register. The intention is much the same as amendment No. 79. I will not repeat it at length other than saying it is hugely important for us to empower those who are at some level asking for support to manage a habit, compulsion or addiction to put distance between themselves and this habit so they can make the change they wish to make for their own lives.

Whereas amendments Nos. 79 and 81 relate to the ability of a person to request his or her stored data be deleted by a licensee, amendment No. 89 places an obligation on the licensee not to collect or collate personal data on the relevant person for the duration of him or her being included on the exclusion register. Unfortunately, there is a drafting error in the amendment so we will withdraw the amendment on this Stage with the right to return to the issue on Report Stage.

Amendment No. 95 to section 47 provides for the removal of a person from the exclusion register. It seeks to ensure a person could only be excluded from the register at the conclusion of the specified period if he or she provided explicit consent. It is important we provide people with the opportunity to opt-out of being removed from the register at the conclusion of the specified period because there are likely to be many cases where being on the register is working well for people in terms of managing their gambling. Removing someone from the register without warning or without providing him or her the opportunity to extend their time on the register could have the effect of luring an individual back into gambling habits he or she felt were previously unhealthy. Like the others in this suite of amendments, the spirit of this proposed insertion is to support individuals who have decided to put some distance between themselves and their gambling for whatever reason and to keep this distance if they choose to do so. We believe they are sensible amendments and practical and rooted in compassion and hope the Minister of State will consider accepting them. I thank the Acting Chair.