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Dáil Éireann díospóireacht -
Tuesday, 20 May 2003

Vol. 567 No. 1

Written Answers. - Gaming and Lotteries Legislation.

Pat Rabbitte

Ceist:

385 Mr. Rabbitte asked the Minister for Justice, Equality and Law Reform if his attention has been drawn to the widespread distribution of scratch cards, often within the pages of national newspapers, invariably stating that the recipient has won a substantial prize but requiring that a lengthy phone call be made at premium rates in order that the prize can be claimed; if he is satisfied that the requirements of gaming and lotteries legislation are complied with by the promoters of these competitions; if so, if he has plans to amend the law in order to control or abolish them; if his Department has discussed with the Department of Communications, Marine and Natural Resources the need for improved regulation of the premium rate service in this regard; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [13819/03]

All scratch card competitions must fully comply with current gaming and lotteries legislation. Where premium rate services are used such scratch card competitions must have prior authorisation from Regtel – Regulator of Premium Rate Telecommunications Services Limited – before they are launched. In addition, service providers providing such services must comply with specific sections of Regtel's code of practice. For example, in relation to promotional material, the cost of a call and its duration must be associated with the premium rate number used for that service. There are also specific conditions set out in the code of practice regarding the promotion of premium rate services. In particular, promotional material must not be misleading. In authorising such scratch card competitions the regulator stipulates that the cost of any individual call made to such competitions must not exceed €8.

Regtel is the independent regulator and is a not-for-profit company, financed by the industry and is a supervisory body for the premium rate telecommunication industry in Ireland. Premium rate services are regulated under S.I. No. 194 of 1995. This instrument makes provision for setting up the office of Regtel and it requires that premium rate service providers shall at all times comply with Regtel's code of practice and abide by instructions or directions from Regtel with regard to premium rate services. Neither the Department of Communications, Marine and Natural Resources nor the Commission for Communications Regulation have direct responsibility for regulating the content and promotion of premium rate services.
I am informed by the Garda authorities that they have not, to date, received any direct complaints concerning this particular type of competition. On receipt of a complaint the matter would be fully investigated and the advice of the law officers sought.
The recommendations of the report of the interdepartmental review group on the review of the Gaming and Lotteries Acts 1956-86 – published in June 2000 – including those concerning the conduct of various categories of lottery are being examined in my Department in light of the proposed legislation to amend and update the Gaming and Lotteries Acts.

Dan Boyle

Ceist:

386 Mr. Boyle asked the Minister for Justice, Equality and Law Reform the extent to which he is pursuing the recommendations of the Disability Legislation Consultative Group's document, "Equal Citizens - Core Elements of Disability Legislation", released in February 2003. [13835/03]

The Disability Bill 2001 was published on 21 December 2001. Following concerns expressed by interest groups, the Government agreed to further consultations on future proposals for disability legislation, in particular the Disability Bill 2001. An expert consultation team was appointed in April 2002 to oversee the consultation process and comprised Ms Sylda Langford, Assistant Secretary in the Department of Justice, Equality and Law Reform, Mr. John O'Donnell, Senior Counsel, Professor Brian Nolan, Economic and Social Research Institute, Mr. Bernard Feeney, Senior Consultant, Goodbody's Economic Consultants, and Mr. Brian Crowley, Member of the European Parliament.

In addition, a group representative of people with disabilities, their families, carers and service providers, the Disability Legislation Consultation Group, DLCG, was brought together by the National Disability Authority, NDA, to facilitate dialogue at national level, both within the sector and with the consultation team. The DLCG presented the document "Equal Citizens – Proposals for Core Elements of Disability Legislation" to the expert consultation team in early February 2003. Having met with and received the views of key stakeholders, including the DLCG, the social partners, the community and voluntary sector and relevant Government Departments, the consultation team completed its task in February 2003.
The process of overseeing the preparation of the revised Disability Bill has been referred by the Government to the Cabinet Sub-Committee on Social Inclusion in view of the complex and crosscutting issues which fall to be considered. The Cabinet sub-committee will play a key role in facilitating cross-departmental co-operation in the development of legislative proposals over the coming months. The DLCG document has remained an important input to deliberations as regards the content of the legislation at each stage of the process.
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