Senator Mark Wall: … The second issue I wish to raise today is the continuing and urgent need to ban gambling advertising. In a speech last week, President Michael D. Higgins hit out at what he described as "dangerous" gambling advertisements which he said were causing so much damage to families and individuals. The President went on to say that his heart has been broken regularly during the pandemic as he watched advertisement after advertisement for gambling during sports programmes accompanied by what he described as the "minimal, tokenistic invitations to be responsible". He said it was "not good enough". Once again, the President was speaking on behalf of many of us. Since introducing our Bill in the Seanad to ban gambling advertising, I have been inundated with calls and emails from Irish people who feel the exact same way as our President. Many cannot enjoy sport anymore because they are flooded with ads to gamble before, during and after the event that they are trying to watch. What disturbs me is that we still have no watershed on gambling advertising in this country and our children are being exposed to a highly addictive behaviour. 

The eighth anniversary of the 2013 gambling Bill will take place on 15 July next. We need a ban on gambling advertising. We cannot allow this to continue any further. We have introduced a Bill that could be accepted by the Government. Time is ticking. We are storing up a serious health problem for this country by not acting now… 

[For the full debate, click on the link to the Oireachtas website]