Dáil Éireann debate -
Thursday, 30 Nov 2000

Vol. 527 No. 2

Written Answers. - National Lottery.

Derek McDowell

Question:

25 Mr. McDowell asked the Minister for Finance the steps he has taken to allocate the licence to run the national lottery; the further steps he will take in this regard; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [28008/00]

Minister for Finance (Mr. McCreevy)

The Department advertised for suitable applicants to submit names for consideration for inclusion in a short list, phase 1, leading up to a separate competitive process to award a licence to operate the national lottery. Three applications were received from the current operator, Autotote Worldwide Services and Rockdean Limited a subsidiary of Sisal, a Milan based lottery operator. All three were deemed eligible to progress to phase 2, the actual selection process.

An evaluation group chaired by my Department at second secretary level and comprising four other senior officials was established for phase 2 Mr. Sean Cromien, former Secretary General of my Department, was appointed as process auditor to assure that the process is implemented in an open and transparent manner. The evaluation group recruited a firm of consultants to advise and assist with the design of the invitation to apply, evaluation of proposals received and the final selection of the successful applicant. The three applicants were issued with a draft invitation to apply and a draft licence on 26 September last. They were subsequently invited to an applicants conference on 27 October which afforded them the opportunity to query the documents and to raise various issues concerning the future operation of the lottery. As can be appreciated, the process, which is ongoing, is a complex, time consuming and deliberative one, involving extensive advices on the legal aspects of the process. For these reasons, and before issuing a final invitation to apply and licence, it is essential that appropriate time and resources are dedicated to ensuring that my Department conducts a fair and objective competitive process. Arising from a request from two of three applicants for a two month extension of the current application date of 4 December 2000, I have informed the applicants that I am minded to grant this extension. This will entail a further extension of the licence from April 2001 to the end of 2001.