Vol. 470 No. 7
208 Mr. Lawlor asked the Minister for Justice if she will decouple the unfair cap on lottery prizes, such as those on offer from REHAB, from the wider review and address the capping issue through the statutory instrument available to her under the National Lottery Act, 1986 in view of the delays in the workings of the Advisory Group on Charities. [19956/96]
The Deputy will be aware that there is a commitment in the Government Policy Agreement to reform the law relating to the administration and regulation of charities along the lines of the report of the Committee on Fundraising Activities for Charitable and Other Purposes, which included recommendations in relation to lotteries. Work on the preparation of this legislation is proceeding and it is hoped to introduce the legislation early next year.
To assist this process, the Minister of State at my Department, Deputy Joan Burton established an advisory group on charities comprising representatives of a number of organisations working in the area. The report of the group is expected shortly, and any changes to the cap on lottery prizes will be considered in the context of the subsequent charities legislation.
The cap on lottery prizes should, I believe, be considered in relation to the wider circumstances which relate to the regulation of lotteries. I do not propose to review it in isolation from all the other very relevant factors.
