I join colleagues in sending condolences to the O'Rourke and Naughten families and I second Senator Sherlock's proposal regarding No. 12 on the Order Paper. In the last couple of weeks in particular, I have been contacted by a number of people who were affected by unplanned power outages in Kildare South. There seems to be a concentration of these outages in the Lackagh, Monasterevin and Rathangan areas, right across to Athgarvan and mid-Kildare. There are several problems with the outages, apart from the obvious f…

I second the amendment.

I move amendment No. 17: In page 118, line 32, after “television,” to insert “personal gaming device,”.

I move amendment No. 18: In page 121, line 10, to delete “or e-mail” and substitute “, e-mail or other form of push communication”.

I move amendment No. 19: In page 125, between lines 29 and 30, to insert the following: “ Obligation to safeguard from excessive and compulsive gambling patterns 157 . (1) Where a licensee to whom this Chapter applies becomes aware of a gambling pattern (in this section referred to as an “excessive or compulsive gambling pattern”) that suggests a participant is placing themselves at risk of undue harm, the licensee shall- (a) cease accepting relevant payments from the participant in relation to the relevant gamblin…

Amendment No. 19 seeks to address an imbalance that we perceive in the Bill, which essentially places the lion’s share of the responsibility to keep a person safe from harm with the person himself or herself. While it is, of course, important that a person takes responsibility for gambling behaviour, gambling companies should also take proactive steps to keep their users safe from harm. If gambling companies can be empowered under the Bill to keep under review the patterns of gambling deemed to be suspicious activi…

I second the amendment.

I thank the Minister of State and welcome the fact he has re-examined section 157. It was the subject of much debate last week. Could the Minister of State detail the restrictions he introduced tonight? Will it be up to the regulator now to announce the restrictions or will they be part of the Bill? He has given us a definition but for me, it does not go far enough. I called for a ban on inducements the last time and was supported by a number of colleagues. While I welcome that the Minister of State has re-examined…

I move amendment No. 21: In page 125, to delete lines 30 to 39, and in page 126, to delete lines 1 to 20 and substitute the following: “Obligation not to offer inducement to gamble 157. (1) A licensee to whom this Chapter applies shall not offer a benefit or advantage, the intent or effect of which is, either directly or indirectly, to encourage or maintain participation in gambling (in this section referred to as an “inducement”). (2) A licensee who fails to comply with subsection (1) is guilty of an offence and i…

I move amendment No. 24: In page 129, between lines 33 and 34, to insert the following: “(b) accept payment for a relevant gambling activity from an unregulated financial entities or unauthorised firms,”.

I move amendment No. 25: In page 130, line 29, after “writing” to insert the following: “, including information about how the licensee, or any third party service provider, will gather, store and process the person’s personal data, and how this data is intended to be used”.

Further to what Senator Ward has said, regarding amendments Nos. 200 and 201, as I understand it at the moment the application is made to the Garda Síochána. That has caused problems for certain charity groups and community groups. Will it still be done through the Garda Síochána or will the regulator take that on? Amendment No. 200 mentions a once-off lottery where the lottery will not be held in a calendar year during which the person runs another such lottery. Does that again refer to the charity groups Senator …

The Minister has clarified the situation regarding our amendment No. 241 and his amendment No. 240. I am happy with amendment No. 240.

The reason many of us are here is the normalisation of gambling on sport by gambling companies and what they have done to influence so many people, a growing number of people in this country - one in 30 or 130,000 people - who now have a gambling addiction. One of the biggest issues those who have that gambling addiction mention when I talk to them is a free bet or an "inducement" as it is referred to in this Bill. It has also been referred to by my colleague. For the life of me, I cannot understand why these have …

I cannot believe one of the contributions tonight, because it is straight out of the gambling companies’ playbook as to why they should get free bet inducements. To suggest that should happen in this country when we have 130,000 people with a gambling addiction is wrong. Everybody is entitled to their opinion, but I have to say once again that this is a public health issue. I accept what the Minister of State says in his reply but I cannot accept the reasoning behind it because gambling companies are not the same a…

I, too, welcome the Minister of State to the House on what is a very busy day for her and everybody in Leinster House. I also thank the Cathaoirleach for selecting this Commencement matter. McCauley Court is a lovely development of ten units - ten houses and family homes - on the grounds of St. Vincent's Hospital in Athy. It is an issue I have followed for a number of years, probably since I was first elected as a councillor to Kildare County Council. At the moment, there are ten units in this development, four of …

I appreciate the Minister of State's detailed response. She is correct that it is about delivery. I am aware that the Government has provided €900,000 for the upgrade of these homes and the provision of six new family homes and welcome that. However, when I visit these pensioners in their homes and see the mould coming out of the wall, I cannot accept that the HSE is delaying this or that the Government is allowing that to happen. My request for the Minister of State today is that she contact the HSE on behalf of a…

I move amendment No. 38: In page 21, between lines 30 and 31, to insert the following: “(6) For the avoidance of doubt, this Act applies to gambling activities carried on by, or on the premises of, a private members’ club in like manner as it applies to such activities carried on by, or on the premises of, any other natural or legal person or unincorporated body of persons.”. We spoke about this in the opening contributions last night about private clubs and gambling, not just in Dublin but throughout the country. …

I welcome the clarity by the Minister of State. Our amendment was for the avoidance of doubt and clarity has been given. On that basis, I will withdraw the amendment.

I move amendment No. 39: In page 21, between lines 30 and 31, to insert the following: “ Non-application of Act 3. This Act does not apply to gambling activities carried on, by or on behalf of an organisation that is a registered charitable organisation under the Charities Act 2009.”. There was a lot of discussion in the Dáil about charities and the effect this gambling legislation would have on them. We have been contacted in the past couple of days to the effect that a lot of charities are happy with the amendmen…