I do not have an answer for that. I will inquire.

The Senator's amendment speaks to some of the core issues addressed by the Bill and to the debate concerning the regulation of gambling advertising. The purpose of the amendment is to introduce an absolute prohibition on advertising gambling and provides for the offences for a breach of that prohibition. Unfortunately, I cannot accept it. As Senators will be aware, a key focus of the Bill is to protect children and vulnerable people from the harms associated with gambling. The Bill includes restrictions on gambling…

I thank the Senator very much. I think at this stage that a complete ban is a step too far but I will certainly keep it under consideration. The authority does have the power to make further recommendations for further restrictions and it would be important, as the Senator has said, that the authority does exercise that role.

The national lottery currently operates under the National Lottery Act 2013 and its activities are regulated by the office of the Regulator of the National Lottery. This also includes extensive oversight concerning the sales and supply of equipment to the holder of the licence to operate the national lottery and any of its agents. In this context amendments Nos. 118 and 119 to sections 68 and 69 of the Bill are necessary to ensure that the Bill does not affect the continued supply of services and equipment to the n…

I actually disagree with the Senator. We are explicitly ensuring here that anyone doing business with the national lottery is not governed by this legislation because we do not have the jurisdiction to regulate those businesses in their dealings with the national lottery. SECTION 73

Briefly, on amendment No. 1, this is simply a technical amendment. On amendments Nos. 2 and 107 to 109, inclusive, I thank the Senator for his amendments but I cannot accept them. His amendments seek to introduce a provision that is similar to sections 12 and 13 of the Gaming and Lotteries Act 1956, and for related matters. Those sections require a local authority to adopt a resolution to permit gambling in its relevant area. Unfortunately, local authorities are not exercising this power in a consistent manner, as …

I will be brief as I have made many of my arguments. We just spent almost an hour and half talking about physical premises and what are one-armed bandits in physical premises. The casinos are in every bedroom in the country. Every ten- or 12-year old who has a phone has a casino in his or her house. That is what we are trying to address here. There is this idea that there are all these big money people who want to open up physical casinos on every estate in the country. The people with big money are putting it into…

I have made all my arguments.

Amendments Nos. 3 to 7, inclusive, are technical amendments to include references to various other Acts in the Bill. These are necessary for the transitional measures and consequential amendments to other legislation later in the Bill. Amendment No. 41 again is a minor technical amendment to accurately reflect how modern bookmakers operate and to ensure consistency in language throughout the Bill. Amendment No. 46 is a minor drafting amendment recommended by the Office of the Parliamentary Counsel.

Regarding amendment No. 31 in the name of Senators Ruane and Higgins, I certainly cannot disagree with almost all of the Senator's concerns. However, we are satisfied that the reference to "the internet" in paragraph (a) of the definition of "remote means" covers gaming devices and consoles as they inherently need access to the Internet to access online services such as apps and in-game services. We believe, are satisfied and advised that our definition does, in fact, cover gambling on gaming devices and consoles. …

I hear Senator Ruane's concerns where someone may download something, operate offline and then re-upload. My view is that this legislation will still cover those types of situations but I undertake to give it further consideration.

I move: "That the Bill be now read a Second Time." I thank the Leas-Cheann Comhairle and Deputies. This is an important Bill that balances and safeguards the rights to freedom of expression with the protection of good name and reputation, and to access to justice. This legislation touches on the protection of our democracy itself and introduces innovative measures to protect responsible public interest journalism. The Bill delivers on the programme for Government commitment to review and reform our defamation laws.…

I thank the Deputies for their contributions. In the time available to me, I want to address some of the issues raised. On the pre-legislative scrutiny and recommendations made, there is an increasing tendency on the Opposition side of the House to state that because the Government does not blindly accept the recommendations of an Oireachtas committee, it somehow has not taken them into consideration or is somehow undemocratic. That is disinformation. An Oireachtas committee’s role is to scrutinise. It is questiona…

I move: That the Bill be referred to the Select Committee on Justice pursuant to Standing Orders 95 and 181.

I thank the Social Democrats for tabling this motion on domestic and sexual violence. I acknowledge the emphatic and empathetic contributions made by all of the speakers this morning. As the Minister, Deputy McEntee, outlined, the Government is not opposing this motion. We are all in agreement that we need to keep the momentum of change going in working towards zero tolerance for domestic, sexual and gender-based violence right across society. As Minister of State with responsibility for law reform, I have been sup…

Amendments Nos. 1 to 11, inclusive, are technical amendments which are to replace the word "vulnerable" with "relevant". The reason for that is that the word "vulnerable" has a more particular meaning in a number of other places in legislation. This is to avoid confusion in relation to it. A vulnerable person is currently defined in the Bill as a person with capacity issues. However, a position of vulnerability is also used in relation to trafficked persons, which is construed more broadly. The Office of the Direct…

I thank all Deputies for their contributions this evening. Like them, I express my deepest sympathies to the O'Farrell family on the loss of Shane. As the Minister has already said, the Government will not be opposing this motion. To assist the Government in considering the Haughton report, the Minister is going to write to the Joint Committee on Justice to ask it to look at its recommendations and conclusions. I thank Judge Haughton, who carried out a very thorough review of all relevant material and produced a de…

I express many thanks to the Labour Party for tabling this important motion on gender-based violence. I acknowledge the deeply considered contributions of all the speakers here. Many important issues have been raised and I know the Minister, Deputy McEntee, will address many of them later this afternoon when we will be hearing statements on tackling domestic, sexual and gender-based violence. As the Minister, and colleagues, outlined earlier, the Government is not opposing this motion. We all agree that domestic, s…

I thank Senators for devoting time to their consideration of this important Bill through its various Stages. The Bill sets out a package of measures that will introduce important reforms in a number of areas. The common ground underpinning all these measures is our commitment to strengthening protections for vulnerable victims. A number of recommendations in the O'Malley review of the protections for vulnerable witnesses in the investigation and prosecution of sexual offences have already been implemented. They inc…

The grouped amendments are technical amendments to the Bill that substitute the words "relevant" and "vulnerable" in a number of places. "Vulnerable person" was defined in the Bill as a person with capacity issues; however, "position of vulnerability" is also used in the legislation in relation to a trafficked person. Vulnerability in the latter context is interpreted more broadly and can include multiple factors, depending on the victim's personal circumstances. The Office of the Director of Public Prosecutions ra…