Louise O'Reilly (Dublin Fingal, Sinn Fein)
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800. To ask the Minister for Health his plans to run a nationwide gambling and gambling addiction awareness campaign; if no campaign is planned, the reason therefor; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [1661/19]

Louise O'Reilly (Dublin Fingal, Sinn Fein)
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801. To ask the Minister for Health the funding allocated to help treat persons with gambling addiction in each of the years 2015 to 2018; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [1662/19]

Catherine Byrne (Dublin South Central, Fine Gael)
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I propose to take Questions Nos. 800 and 801 together.

Statutory responsibility for Government policy on gambling issues comes under the ambit of the Department of Justice and Equality.

There are no plans under consideration by the Department of Health for a nationwide gambling and gambling addiction awareness campaign.

The Department of Health provides the HSE with an overall allocation for addiction services, which can include gambling addiction. People presenting to the HSE with a gambling addiction are offered the same range of interventions as those with alcohol or drug addiction problems.

The Department does not allocate specific funding to the HSE for the treatment of gambling addiction. It is therefore not possible to identify the proportion of funding specifically spent on individual addictions.

Louise O'Reilly (Dublin Fingal, Sinn Fein)
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802. To ask the Minister for Health the number of persons who were treated for gambling addiction in each of the years 2015 to 2018; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [1663/19]

Catherine Byrne (Dublin South Central, Fine Gael)
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As this is a service matter, it has been referred to the Health Service Executive for attention and direct reply to the Deputy.

Louise O'Reilly (Dublin Fingal, Sinn Fein)
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803. To ask the Minister for Health if a lead researcher was found for bulletin 7 of the Drugs Prevalence Survey 2014-15 which focuses on gambling; when this bulletin will be published in view of the fact that it was to be released in 2017; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [1664/19]

Catherine Byrne (Dublin South Central, Fine Gael)
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The prevalence of drug use and gambling survey 2014/15 included questions on gambling for the first time, at the request of the Department of Justice and Equality. The results from the survey are published in a series of Bulletins. Key findings from the survey, published in Bulletin 1, 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 detailed analysis of gambling prevalence has been completed and it is intended to publish this as Bulletin 7 later in January.

Bulletins are published on the Department of Health websitewww.health.gov.ie.

The next prevalence of drug use and gambling survey covers 2018/19.