Chris Andrews (Sinn Fein)
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Prior to the last election, both the Minister of State's party and its coalition partners made firm commitments in their manifestos to increase the betting tax from 2% to 3% and to use this funding for investment in sport. This commitment strangely vanished from the programme for Government with no mention of the betting tax or additional capital investment in sport infrastructure and academies for Irish football. A 1% increase in this levy would have raised approximately €50 million in desperately needed funding for Irish sport. This modest increase is a common-sense move that would help to address the chronic underfunding of Irish sport over recent decades. It would also enable investment in facilities and academies vital for participation and success in sport.

Ireland's betting levy is already the lowest in the EU at 2%, a clear indicator of the privileged position the gambling industry enjoys in Ireland. In contrast, Portugal has a 3.5% betting levy. The revenue is distributed directly to sport. This has generated more than €182 million for the Portuguese football association over a six-year period, accounting for 30% of its annual revenue and enabling investment in every level of football in that country. Ireland is simply not matching this level of investment and is falling further and further behind as a result. If Ireland has the ambition to compete at the same level as Portugal internationally, we have to commit to building a football industry from the grassroots up.

This is not about Irish football receiving State handouts. It is about investing in local and national infrastructure that will deliver long-term benefits for our society, economy and national team. We need to invest in facilities and academies at a community level and ensure the League of Ireland is supported and pushed to achieve its potential. A modest increase in the betting tax is a simple first step towards achieving this goal. Practically the only opponent of this move has been the gambling industry and its army of lobbyists, profiting off the misfortunes of others.

Prior to the election, increasing the betting tax from 2% to 3% had the support of practically every party in the Oireachtas. Once the votes were counted, Fianna Fáil and Fine Gael decided to renege on this promise. This has the gambling industry's fingerprints all over it. It is just another example of Fianna Fáil and Fine Gael putting corporate interests over communities, families and society at large. I have a specific question for the Minister of State. Why did Fianna Fáil and Fine Gael promise to increase the betting tax for the benefit of sport only to abandon this promise once their hold on power was secured?

Robert Troy (Longford-Westmeath, Fianna Fail)
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I thank the Senator for raising this issue. It is important to note that the use of funds arising from betting duty accrues to the Exchequer and there is no hypothecation or ring-fencing of betting duty receipts to any sport or sporting body. Such funding matters are for the Department of Tourism, Culture, Arts, Gaeltacht, Sport and Media and the Department of Public Expenditure, NDP Delivery and Reform to consider as part of the annual Estimates process.

Betting duty is chargeable on all bets placed by a person with a licensed bookmaker at a bookmaker’s registered premises irrespective of the means by which the bet is placed. Licensed remote betting intermediaries are liable for betting intermediary duty on commission charged by them to persons in the State. The rate of duty depends on the type of betting activity and how the bet is placed. The rate of betting duty for bets place with a licensed bookmaker within the State either over the counter or via remote means is 2%. The rate of betting intermediary duty on the commission is 25%. Betting duty is reviewed annually as part of the annual budget process. Options regarding rates are presented to the tax strategy group, TSG, in the TSG general excise paper published on the website of the Department of Finance. Any decision on rates will be taken in the context of budget 2026.

The Senator should be aware that considerable financial support has been provided by the State for the development of football in Ireland, particularly through the 2020-23 memorandum of understanding, MOU, between the Government and the FAI. The MOU provided for a package of funding of €5.8 million per annum to the FAI during that four-year period for football development.In return, and it is important to recognise this, the FAI has made significant progress regarding governance reform, with 159 of the 163 MOU recommendations and conditions either completed or having phase 1 completed. A new MOU was signed on 17 December 2024, which will increase State funding to the FAI to €6 million per annum for the period 2024 to 2027.

With regard to State support for the development of facilities, more than €100 million in capital funding was allocated to Irish football in the second half of 2024. Under the large-scale sport infrastructure fund, €54.4 million was allocated to football stadia in November 2024 for projects at Finn Harps, Dalymount Park, Sligo Rovers and Wexford Football Club. The programme for Government includes a commitment to exploring new mechanisms for the creation of football academies with the FAI and the League of Ireland. An important piece of work in this context is supported by the additional grant fund of €1 million to the FAI in 2024. This funding will enable the FAI to produce a detailed report on the development of football academies, building on a submission to the Department of sport in autumn 2024. The report will include a deep baseline audit of existing structures and needs, which will inform the development plan.

The Minister of State with responsibility for sport, Deputy McConalogue, will engage with the FAI on this topic further to receiving the report for which the Department has provided funding. That report will be a key input into considering the next steps to be taken, while noting that decisions in this regard are preliminarily a matter for the FAI as an independent sports body.

Chris Andrews (Sinn Fein)
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It seems that the Government has bowed at the altar of the gambling industry, while sport and Irish football have to pick up the tab. I find it hard to take that the discredited and abusive greyhound industry gets €19 million a year, and Irish football and other sports get hardly a fraction of that figure. Governments will talk about sports capital and individual funding projects, as the Minister of State has done, but what is needed is sustained and reliable long-term funding, not once-off payments. That would be helped by increasing the betting levy by 1%.

The Minister of State also mentioned that as it is the Exchequer, there is no ring-fencing of betting levy receipts to any sport or sporting body, but we all know that is not true because the horse and greyhound lobby has got funding that equates to the sums gambled. The Government needs to commit to a new approach to sports funding that places communities, not corporate interests, at the forefront.

Robert Troy (Longford-Westmeath, Fianna Fail)
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I reiterate that the Government is committed to supporting the development of Ireland's sporting ecosystem and the support that continues to be provided for football is a key example of that commitment in action. This is evidenced by the significant funding provided to the FAI, including capital investment for sports infrastructure and funding for training facilities. As I referred to earlier, the programme for Government includes a commitment to exploring new mechanisms for the creation of football academies with the FAI and the League of Ireland. My colleague the Minister of State with responsibility for sport, Deputy McConalogue, will review the report on the development of football academies, which will feed into the development of a future training development plan.

A key point is that betting duty accrues to the Exchequer and, therefore, betting duty receipts are not ring-fenced for any sport or any sporting body. It is acknowledged that there is a regular source of confusion in that from 2001 to 2008, the horse and greyhound racing fund received a guaranteed level of funding each year, which was based on betting duty receipts for the preceding year, subject to a minimum level based on the year 2000 amount. However, in 2009, a policy change was made whereby the annual payments to the fund were no longer automatically calculated by reference to the previous year's betting duty. This policy change was outlined in the budget 2009 summary of budget measures.

Imelda Goldsboro (Fianna Fail)
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I thank the Minister of State.