I second the amendment.

I second the amendment.

I move amendment No. 16: In page 118, between lines 21 and 22, to insert the following: “(4) Subject to subsection (3) , a person shall not advertise, or cause another person to advertise, any event exclusively named after a licensee under this Act.”.

Amendment No. 16 states: "Subject to subsection (3) , a person shall not advertise, or cause another person to advertise, any event exclusively named after a licensee under this Act.” This is a straightforward and important amendment that would target, for example, the likes of the Paddy Power Comedy Festival and other blatant misuses of sponsorship to replace advertising.

I take the Minister of State’s point. However, I am reminded of what Senator McDowell said two weeks ago when he asked whether the Bill was really about permitting gambling as opposed to curbing it. It seems from the Minister of State's response that he is happy to regulate gambling, which is disappointing. We know gambling companies are very creative in finding ways of replacing advertising, and one of the most straightforward ways they do that is by putting their names to various events. He should not allow them …

I second the amendment.

I second the amendment.

I second the amendment.

I move amendment No. 20: In page 125, to delete lines 30 to 39, and in page 126, to delete lines 1 to 20 and substitute the following: “Offering inducement to gamble 157. A licensee to whom this Chapter applies may not offer the general public a benefit or advantage, the intent or effect of which is, either directly or indirectly, to encourage participation in gambling (in this section referred to as an “inducement”).”. Currently, the Act allows an inducement to be offered, subject to regulations. This is perverse.…

I second the amendment.

I second the amendment.

I second the amendment.

I raise two issues, the first of which is one I have raised previously. It is a difficult one because it involves the appalling practices of the Financial Services and Pensions Ombudsman’s office. A man lost his life in tragic circumstances related to his work and a €670,000 sum from his pension, which he had earned over his lifetime, has not been passed on to the family. I will not mention the details because that would not be appropriate, but the family have been trying to pursue that money and get what is rightf…

Well said.

Well said.

I do not know if Senator Higgins has someone planned to second that proposal, but I am happy to do so. I also want to speak about Palestine in the context of the question that kept being repeated to me throughout this summer, which is, "How can the world allow this to continue to happen?" The truthful answer is that it is allowed to continue because politicians from across the globe refuse to speak truth to power.

Unfortunately, we had a prime example of that yesterday when the Taoiseach was in New York attending a meeting of the United Nations. When asked about his views on the US supply of arms to Israel, he said that he would not interfere in another country's foreign policy and, "I wouldn't appreciate another country telling us our foreign policy or telling us how to proceed." That is absolute nonsense. He is at the United Nations. That is the forum where people are supposed to say to other countries that we disagree wit…

We can do this. We can do it in a week or two weeks and get it done. We can send a signal to the world. There are no legal impediments. Indeed, the Belgian Government has already passed its version of the occupied territories Bill. It is the least we can do. Otherwise, we will be guilty, alongside all of the other politicians across the world, of not taking concrete actions because words are simply not enough. One other issue that has been alluded to by Senator Higgins is we must confront what is happening in Shann…

The Minister of State is very welcome. I will speak in general terms and then specifically to Senator McDowell's amendments. In general terms, we welcome the Bill. It has been far too long in the making. Sinn Féin's position is that we want to see a stronger Bill than the one we have. We have a particular concern about the Minister of State's denial to date to ensure that at least one member of the gambling authority has a lived experience of gambling and the damage it can do. I am a little bit at a loss as to why …

I absolutely agree with the previous speaker. There is an irony here. Everyone who spoke initially said that what has happened to local democracy is awful, none of us agree with that and we want to see more powers restored. Yet, if Senator McDowell pushes this to a vote, those on the Government side will vote to diminish local authority powers. That is the fact of the matter. How on earth do they justify that? Second, to what end would they do that? What is the benefit of taking away the democratic right of a local…