asked the Minister for Finance the projected total amount of money which will be raised by the national lottery this year; the amount given out in prize money; if a formula for the distribution of the funds through various Departments has been worked out; if so, the nature of such a formula; and, if not, if he will list the amounts various Departments are expected to receive.
Ceisteanna — Questions. Oral Answers. - National Lottery.
10.
Gross sales of lottery tickets this year are forecast to amount to £103 million. The amount given out in prizes depends on a number of factors including luck. It will be in excess of 40 per cent of gross sales, as required by section 4 (2) of the National Lottery Act, 1986.
The distribution of the surplus for eligible purposes is not determined by a formula but is decided on by the Government from time to time in the light of the amounts expected to become available. Allocations of £72.234 million have been made to date for 1987 and 1988. Of this, £10.815 million was issued in 1987. The following amounts are available for spending by Departments in 1988:—
|
£m |
|
|
Department of Education |
30.284 |
|
Department of the Taoiseach |
7.707 |
|
Department of Foreign Affairs |
1.2 |
|
Department of Social Welfare |
0.85 |
|
Department of Health |
6.415 |
|
Office of Public Works |
1.8 |
|
Department of the Environment |
9.18 |
|
Roinn na Gaeltachta |
3.983 |
|
Total |
£61.419 |
The Minister in his reply did not tell us what he meant by luck. Is it the purchasers' luck or the Minister's luck? It could act either way.
I will just explain that to the Deputy. It should have been in the reply. I asked that question myself and I have the answer here. The reason I say it would be in excess of 40 per cent of gross sales is the different prize structures. In the Lotto game they give 50 per cent of the total take — 50 per cent of it goes back in prize money. In the "instant" game the minimum is 40 per cent of the total take, but because prizes in the grand prize draw may range from £5,000 to £250,000, that amount could go as high as 45 per cent of the total take.
Would the Minister not have done better to have stuck to the formula devised by the previous Government when the national lottery scheme was devised? That was 55 per cent for youth and sport, 35 per cent for art, culture and the Irish language and 10 per cent for special health projects. It seems from the list the Minister has given that about eight Departments now are benefiting from the lottery funds. You might as well put the money back into the Central Fund and disburse it as you would with the total Central Fund allocation. It is being so diluted that we are losing the original objectives. Would the Minister not agree?
I have just said there were no formulae and the Government made that clear in 1987 when adding to the list of beneficiary areas that had been decided by the previous Government. There was to be no formula in relation to the percentage that would be allocated to any heading. The criterion that has been used in the main is the availability of suitable projects. You will find in many cases that youth and sport projects can straddle more than one Department and grants can be made accordingly whether it is in Education or the Environment.
The disbursal has become so widespread that the original purpose of the lottery seems to be defeated. We wanted to look after sport and culture and special health projects. Now it seems to be given for every activity, and that seems to defeat the purpose of the whole exercise.
Ceist le do thoil, a Theachta.
Would the Minister not agree?
No, because in the Department of Education we have youth and sport activity at a much greater rate than would have been the case if there were not these lottery resources. In the amenities programme areas of the Department of the Environment there can be projects that relate to both youth and sport that have to be and are looked after because of schemes that have built up over the years. When one gets this kind of money — and it is big money which we have debated this week and will debate next week in the Dáil — one has to rely in the initial period anyway on tried and tested schemes operated through the local authorities in the case of the Department of the Environment or through the Department of Education and their youth and sport agencies. Therefore, I do not think we have gone too much beyond the areas initially designated for the lottery surplus funds.