I move: That Dáil Éireann resolves that the period of operation of sections 1 to 7 and 9 of the Civil Law (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act 2021 (No. 14 of 2021) be extended for a further period of 6 months, beginning on the 1st day of December, 2024, and ending on the 31st day of May, 2025. I am here to introduce the resolution on behalf of the Minister for Justice, Deputy McEntee, to extend the sunset clause in the Civil Law (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act 2021. The extension of this Act will allow the hospitality se…

I certainly hope it is the last time. It is somewhat out of my control. I suspect that, at this stage, it will be the next government that finally brings in a Bill. The Government gave approval on 25 October 2022 to the general scheme of the alcohol Bill. This seeks to reform and replace the Licensing Acts 1833 to 2018 and the Registration of Clubs Acts 1904 to 2008. The Minister intends to deliver on the commitments made in the programme for Government and the Justice Plan 2023. However, she would point out that t…

Obviously, the mayor and the cathaoirleach were also involved. It was a great success and shows what can be done. It was an amazing event. I certainly hear the Deputy. I do not want to be in a situation where a Minister of State has to come here every six months to do exactly this. It needs to be finally resolved. I certainly hope that will happen in the very near future.

I will raise the matter of the courthouse with the Minister, Deputy McEntee.

These are all technical amendments, one of which makes a change to the Long Title.

Yes.

I confirm that private members' clubs will be covered. A couple of lads coming together in their home will not be, but private members' clubs as we know them will be covered by this legislation. I do not have an explanation as to why the advice differs, other than to say that I have always thought that the law is an art and not a science. As time moves on, interpretations can change. It was never something I was convinced of, and I am happy that our more recent Attorneys General are of the view that these clubs can…

There were concerns on Report Stage in the Dáil that the full repeal of section 36 of the Gaming and Lotteries Act 1956 might lead to bookmakers enforcing payment from people who ran up large debts with them. Amendment No. 37 retains the protections provided in section 36 of the Act of 1956 in relation to bookmakers to ensure this does not happen.

Amendment No. 38 is a technical amendment required on foot of amending the Bill to provide for transitional arrangements in respect of gambling legislation currently on the Statute Book. In summary, the transitional measures introduced in Part 10 will provide that the authority commences its licensing functions. Existing legislation shall be repealed but all existing licences and related regulatory and enforcement powers under current legislation will continue to operate during the transitional period while there a…

Amendments Nos. 40 and 41 are minor drafting amendments to accurately reflect the functions of the authority as a result of previous amendments to the Bill in Dáil Éireann.

Amendment No. 42 provides for the ability of the authority to charge licensees a fee where they make an application to vary an aspect of their existing licence, while amendment No. 74 is a drafting amendment recommended by the Office of Parliamentary Counsel as a result of amendments introduced during Report and Final Stages in Dáil Éireann. The amendment is necessary to ensure the authority may seek court orders to block advertising by unlicensed and illegal operators. Amendment No. 94 is a small but important ame…

Amendment No. 43 provides for the retention of a definition of "relevant date" which is the date from which a person on the register is excluded from gambling. In regard to amendment No. 44, the Bill previously provided for a national gambling exclusion register to allow people to register with the authority and exclude themselves from online gambling. The Bill provided that a person who wished to exclude could choose what activities and specify the particular licensees they wish to be excluded from gambling with. …

Addressing Deputy Howlin's question first, that very much is the intention. As time has moved on, language has changed slightly in the drafting, but that very much carries the same intention as the previous legislation, which is that they remain equal. We are satisfied that the definition of "relevant content" is that they cannot advertise the activity or the licensee, and that would include any promotion of the licensee itself. This would include any promotion of the licensee and would include any material associa…

We are satisfied that the current definition does, in fact, cover it. Seanad amendment agreed to. Seanad amendment agreed to.

Amendment No. 62 relates to the social impact fund and inserts a new section into the Bill that provides for the possible refund of moneys transferred into the social impact fund from a licensee that transferred the balance on an account that had not been used for 13 months, and where the licensee, despite best efforts, could not make the refund to the account holder. The social impact fund is a hugely important piece of this legislation. Debate ended quite quickly in the Seanad on the last occasion so I just want …

Given the alternative debt resolution procedures that have been introduced, such as personal insolvency arrangements for example, this amendment widened the grounds for ineligibility for appointment or retention as an officer of the authority to include any other arrangements or compositions with creditors. With regard to amendments Nos. 64 to 67, inclusive, on advice from the Office of the Attorney General it was considered that the provision as initially drafted was too broad and these amendments narrow the scope…

It relates to restrictions on the rights under data protection regulations and the Freedom of Information Act. Given the advice of the Attorney General it was considered that the provisions initially drafted were way too broad. As a result, the amendments were needed to reduce the application of that particular legislation as it applied to the Data Protection Act and the Freedom of Information Act. The Attorney General's advice was to narrow it.

It is just the language. The Attorney General's interpretation is that the original language was simply too broad in what it would encompass. It does not go into definitions of what is or is not included. The Attorney General's view is that it would simply bring too much into it in the context of the legislation.

I will speak on these amendments together. The national lottery currently operates under the national lottery Act 2013. Its activities are regulated by the Office of the Regulator of the national lottery. This also includes extensive oversight of concerning the sale and supply of equipment to the holder of the licence to operate the national lottery and of its agents. In this context, amendments Nos. 72 and 73 to sections 68 and 69 of the Bill were necessary to ensure the Bill does not affect the continued supply o…

Amendments Nos. 77 to 84, inclusive, restructured, reorganised and clarified some of the language and terminology in section 83. In particular, amendment No. 84 reframed and moved the provisions of the then section 131 into section 83, referring to betting licences and for clarity and visibility to continue to allow the authority to prescribe what activities and events may not be the subject of betting. A practical example of this would be prohibiting bets on an incident at a sporting event that could lead to the c…