Brian Stanley (Laois-Offaly, Sinn Fein)
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Question 21: To ask the Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform in relation to the National Lottery, if he has terms of reference for the examination of how best to maximise the return on the extension of the licence for the benefit of the people; the timeframe for the examination; and if he will consider increasing the funding to good causes to 40%. [39304/11]

Brendan Howlin (Wexford, Labour)
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As the Deputy is aware, the Government has decided to extend the current National Lottery licence to mid-2013 as an interim arrangement in order to allow time for the holding of a competition for the award of a new licence. My Department is currently exploring the opportunities presented by the expiry of the existing Lottery licence and I intend to bring worked out proposals to Government in the New Year on how best we can approach this matter.

The Government's overriding priority is to maximize the return on the next Lottery licence for the benefit of the community, having regard to the budgetary difficulties faced by the State. There are no formal terms of reference for the exploratory work currently being carried out by my Department. The Government's intention is to seek a large up-front payment to the State, while still retaining significant annual revenues for good causes. It is the Government's intention to use some of the proceeds from any up-front payment to help fund the new National Children's Hospital.

The Government is committed to the continuation of significant National Lottery funding for good causes under any new arrangements for the licence. However, it would be premature to speculate at this time as to the precise level of funding that will be allocated for good causes under the terms of the next licence.