Thomas Gould (Cork North Central, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

I am disappointed the Minister of State will not accept the two proposals we made in amendment No. 17. He recognised the importance of people with lived experience being on the authority. The problem is if is not copperfastened in the legislation there is no guarantee we will have a person with lived experience on the board and it is vital the authority has that vast experience available to it.

I will not delay us longer, but with people in the industry, we must ensure the integrity and we must ensure a cap of no more than two members on the authority from the industry. It is vital for transparency and so the authority can be completely independent and not pushed or manipulated by any group or organisation. Due to these two points, I will have to press the amendment.

As for amendment No. 20, we are asking that if there is outsourcing there be reports brought forward from the Office of Government Procurement and for those reports to be presented annually. We are not taking away the authority's ability to bring in outside experts or groups to get work done outside the authority, but where it does, a report on that work should be prepared and published annually.

I hear what the Minister of State is saying. We are trying to be constructive and positive with the Bill. We are trying to protect people who are at risk of gambling harm. Having people with lived experience on the board is vital.

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