Eoin Ó Broin (Dublin Mid West, Sinn Fein)
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391. To ask the Minister for Health when he will conduct a national gambling prevalence and impact study as recommended by the Institute of Public Health in 2010. [21501/17]

Catherine Byrne (Dublin South Central, Fine Gael)
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At the request of the Department of Justice and Equality, the National Advisory Committee on Drugs and Alcohol (NACDA) Drug Prevalence Survey 2014/15 for the Republic of Ireland included data on gambling for the first time. In the general population survey, results indicated that 64.5% of respondents aged 15 or older reported gambling in the 12 months prior to the survey and 41.4% of respondents reported gambling in the 30 days prior to the survey. A further detailed analysis of gambling will be available in Bulletin 7, which will be published later this year.

I am informed by the Tánaiste and Minister for Justice and Equality that it remains her intention to proceed with gambling legislation at the earliest opportunity. The preparation of a Gambling Control Bill continues on that basis. However, it should be acknowledged that it will require some significant updating to take account of developments since 2013. The preparation of legislation will be a major and complex undertaking.