Ireland’s gambling regulator will not now be appointed until 2023, Minister of State for Law Reform James Browne said at a press conference yesterday.
Justice minister Helen McEntee had said last month that she expected proposals on licensing and regulatory provisions for the Irish gambling industry next year.
Junior minister James Browne said at the post-Budget Department of Justice press conference yesterday, that a new scheme for a bill to establish such an office will be required, given the significant changes in the operation of the gambling industry in recent years.
“It’s a complex industry with upwards of €10 billion of turnover annually,” he said.
Complexities
Online gambling has international complexities involved, and there are issues around advertising and education and the social impact of gambling, the junior minister said.
Justice minister Helen McEntee also said she hopes that An Garda Síochána will reach a headcount of 15,000 next year.
She said her department is doing a huge body of work in relation to the report by the Commission on the Future of Policing, but progress will depend on COVID-19 developments
In terms of the Budget allocation for court reform, the minister said: “This is about moving the courts from the 19th to the 21st century.
Modernisation programme
“They have a very ambitious modernisation programme worked out, and significant funding as part of this allocation is for the Courts Service, not just to ensure that they have technology that they need, but that they can implement the plan and that they have the individuals and the bodies that they need.
“I fully support the work that they are doing and I do believe that this additional funding will help them progress this quicker than they had intended,” she said.