THE GOVERNMENT is to abandon a proposal for an all-party committee on gambling because of opposition from Fine Gael and Labour.
Minister for Justice Dermot Ahern has questioned the use for such a committee after the two main Opposition parties refused to take part unless controversial betting machines, known as fixed-odds betting terminals, were excluded from its remit.
Fine Gael leader Enda Kenny and Labour leader Eamon Gilmore have both written to Mr Ahern saying they would take part in the committee, but only if the terms of reference excluded such terminals.
Mr Ahern now says he will reflect on the responses of the party leaders and decide on a course of action. But he indicated he is unlikely to proceed with the proposal. Answering questions in the Dáil on the matter last week, he said: "I will now carefully consider whether these is anything to be gained from establishing a committee which is forced to exclude from its consideration a controversial component of the modern gambling environment."
The committee, which was to have been chaired by Fine Gael TD Seán Barrett, was to decide what changes should be made to gambling laws following the publication by the Minister earlier this year of a detailed report on the industry. The report came out against fixed-odds terminals in betting shops. Existing legislation, which is more than 50 years old, is widely viewed as outdated.
Mr Ahern said he shared the misgivings of Opposition parties about such terminals, but he didn't believe any problems associated with them could be solved by simply ignoring their existence.
"We must face up to the challenges and threats, as well as the opportunities, inherent in new technologies and evolving social habits, and not bury our heads in the sand and hope they go away," he told Labour TD Pat Rabbitte.
Mr Rabbitte has pointed to academic studies showing that fixed-odds terminals, which he has labelled as "the crack cocaine of gambling", are highly addictive. He has also claimed that Brian Cowen, when he was minister for finance, gave bookmakers "the nod" that they would be introduced as compensation for the shortfall in tax support for the industry.
In Dáil exchanges, he accused Mr Ahern of taking the Opposition "for fools" by promoting an all-party committee as a "ruse" to get such terminals introduced. "If he is against their introduction, what is the problem and why will he not introduce legislation?"
Mr Ahern replied: "To the best of my knowledge, there was no nod from the Taoiseach to anyone. I have not been exhorted by anyone in the Government to consider the issue."
The Minister said he understood there was agreement on the committee until Mr Rabbitte decided he would pick out such terminals, which nobody wanted, and not be part of the group. He accused Mr Rabbitte of being "like a young child who takes his ball away during a football game".
Mr Barrett said he hadn't been contacted by anyone about the committee, but his understanding was the idea had been dropped.
