James Browne (Wexford, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I will respond to amendments Nos. 11 and 12 together. It is important to reiterate that in the drafting this Bill, I consulted the Data Protection Commission and the commission did not specify a need for such a provision to be included. Furthermore, the national gambling exclusion register prohibits licensees from communicating with any person on the register. Licensees need to maintain a certain amount of data in order for the system to interact with the register and verify the identities of people excluded from gambling. If they do not do so then the register will not work and licensees would not be able to comply with their obligations concerning the register. A prohibition on communicating with a person on the register cannot be enforced. On that basis, I am not satisfied that such a provision as proposed in the Senator's amendment is necessary.