Thomas Pringle (Donegal, Independent) | Oireachtas source

I support amendment No. 17, which is reasonable and makes sense. That at least one member of the authority should have lived experience of harmful gambling behaviour is important and may be a suggestion that should be taken on board. I would like to hear why that will not be the case. The gambling regulatory authority will be meant to prevent the harm that gambling can do, so there needs to be personal experience on the board to ensure that relevant information is applied at all times to the decisions that are being made.

That is vitally important.

The second part of the amendment, which provides that no more than two people should be from the industry, is important too because there is a danger that over time, this agency would become a body of and one and the same as the gambling industry. That is something we do not want to happen and the Legislature would not want that to happen as well. These measures should form the protection that is needed for that board to make sure that it can achieve its work and achieve the common good for everybody as well.

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