I move amendment No. 63: In page 36, between lines 37 and 38, to insert the following: “(c) the costs imposed on all of society by problem and compulsive gambling;”. Amendments Nos. 63, 64, 65, 66 and 67 seek to expand on the areas in which the new regulatory authority may undertake, commission or collaborate on research. While the section is drafted in such a way that the authority would likely have some flexibility in deciding the areas it wishes to undertake research within, we feel that there is merit in the le…

I am disappointed that the Minister of State will not accept these amendments. I work in the field of addiction. I set up a charitable organisation that works with families impacted by addiction, including gambling addiction, substance misuse and alcohol addiction, and I see the devastation it causes daily. I see parents and partners who come to the RISE Foundation and who know that a loved one is after remortgaging the house. In fact, the inspiration for me to set up the RISE Foundation came when I was working as …

I will withdraw it.

I move amendment No. 64: In page 36, between lines 37 and 38, to insert the following: “(c) the prevalence of illegal or unregulated gambling, including by children;”.

I move amendment No. 65: In page 36, line 38, after “activities” to insert the following: “, and potential dangers posed by emerging technologies in the development and sustainment of gambling addiction”.

I move amendment No. 66: In page 36, after line 38, to insert the following: “(d) prevailing and emerging trends in gambling and gambling activity;”.

I move amendment No. 67: In page 36, after line 38, to insert the following: “(d) policy approaches to the reduction or elimination of excessive, compulsive and problem gambling in jurisdictions outside the State;”.

I move amendment No. 68: In page 37, between lines 16 and 17, to insert the following: “(2) The Authority shall consider existing and emerging practices in certain activities by non-licensees, which, while not constituting gambling activity, may operate in manner sufficiently similar to gambling and constitute sufficiently similar risk as to merit future identification as gambling and ultimate, appropriate regulation by the Authority.”. Amendments Nos. 68 and 69 relate to issues of concern that the authority shall …

I move amendment No. 69: In page 37, between lines 20 and 21, to insert the following: “(a) is giving rise, or may give rise, to an increase in the number of children and young-people being exposed to gambling activities,”.

Amendments Nos. 71 to 73, inclusive, seek three additions of persons that the authority may enter into an information-sharing agreement with in the performance of its functions. Amendment No. 71 seeks to add the Data Protection Commission. As we referred to in amendment No. 58, gambling companies are engaging in massive amounts of data mining and profiling in regard to users of their services. It is appropriate that the authority should be facilitated to refer the mechanisms and nature of this data gathering to the…

I move amendment No. 71: In page 38, between lines 24 and 25, to insert the following: “(g) the Data Protection Commission,”. I withdraw this amendment with a view to resubmitting it.

I move amendment No. 72: In page 38, between lines 24 and 25, to insert the following: “(g) the Health Service Executive,”. I want a bit of clarity on amendment No. 72 because I am not sure what the Minister of State is saying. This amendment seeks to frame gambling harms through a public health lens to begin to understand the adverse impacts from gambling on the health and well-being of individuals, families, communities and wider society. Will the Minister of State elaborate as to why he is not accepting this ame…

Yes. Adding the Health Service Executive and regulating through a public health lens could be quite powerful, particularly for those who are impacted and their families. It would help them to understand the impacts of gambling from a health and well-being point of view. I genuinely believe that addiction problems have an impact on health, well-being and mental health. Is there any way the Minister of State might reconsider that with regard to having the Health Service Executive frame gambling harms through a public…

I move amendment No. 73: In page 38, between lines 24 and 25, to insert the following: “(g) the Central Bank,”. I withdraw this amendment with a view to resubmitting it.

I move amendment No. 79: In page 43, between lines 13 and 14, to insert the following: “(4) The Authority may cause licensees, who compile, or seek to compile through third party service providers, data profiles the purposes of inviting or retaining participants and prospective participants, to erase all tracked data in relation to a participant if so requested. ”. Can I speak to the amendment?

Apologies, can I speak about it now?

I will keep it short. This section sets out the terms of operation of the national gambling exclusion register. It is a really welcome provision in the legislation and our primary concern about the operation of the register is that it places essentially all of the obligation on a participant to keep themselves safe from harm. This suite of amendments tries to address this imbalance and place certain obligations on licensees to safeguard participants who are at risk of harm. Amendment No. 79 inserts a new provision …

I apologise. Like amendment No. 79, amendment No. 81 seeks to provide participants with the ability to request, when making an application, to be added to the exclusion register so that they would be excluded from data profiling and personalised advertising for the duration of time on which they remain on the register. The intention is much the same as amendment No. 79. I will not repeat it at length other than saying it is hugely important for us to empower those who are at some level asking for support to manage …

May I ask the Minister of State one very simple question with regard to amendment No. 95? I did not understand what he said. Is he saying he will be bringing in amendments that are more or less the same as this amendment? Did I hear him correctly?

I will withdraw amendment No. 79.