asked the Minister for Finance the number of gaming machines in respect of which licences have been issued by the Revenue Commissioners for each year from 1976 to 1985, inclusive.
Written Answers. - Gaming Machines.
160.
I am informed by the Revenue Commissioners that records are not maintained in such a manner as would enable the information requested by the Deputy to be given without the expenditure of an inordinate amount of official time. However, the following table, which gives details of the excise duty receipts and rates of excise duty in respect of gaming machine licences for the years 1976-85, may serve to give the Deputy an indication of the number of machines licensed in those years.
|
Year |
Annual Rate of Excise Duty per machine |
Excise Duty Receipts |
|
|
Full Rate |
Reduced Rate¹ |
||
|
£ |
£ |
£ |
|
|
1976 |
50 |
20 |
91,375 |
|
1977 |
50 |
20 |
119,302 |
|
1978 |
50 |
20 |
143,373 |
|
1979 |
50 |
20 |
179,700 |
|
1980 (from 28/2/1980) |
100 |
66 |
390,237 |
|
1981 |
100 |
66 |
443,798 |
|
1982 (from 13/3/1982) |
150 |
100 |
644,514 |
|
1983 (from 10/2/1983) |
250 |
160 |
1,028,792 |
|
1984 |
250 |
160 |
1,301,710 |
|
1985 |
250 |
160 |
1,596,000 |
|
(approximate) |
¹Up to 1980 the reduced rate applied to licences restricted to the operation of machines on Sundays and public holidays. The reduced rate was extended in February 1980 to include machines operated also on Saturdays.