One of the hidden crises in society is gambling addiction. It gets far less attention than other forms of addiction but in many ways it is more insidious and causes incredible harm. The gambling control Bill, which has been promised for some considerable time, was to provide a new regulatory and licensing framework to deal with gambling and to provide for a new regulatory body. The Taoiseach will recall that the previous Administration established a regulator for the national lottery. Part of the thought process at that time was that, in time, the lottery regulator might well become the gambling regulator. We need to have an authoritative body with strong legislative powers to deal with gambling and especially the growing propensity of people to gamble incredible amounts of money online. What progress has been made on the gambling control Bill? Will the Taoiseach make it a priority? Will he share his thoughts on the possible structure of the authority?

Yes, I will make it a priority. The Minister of State at the Department of Justice and Equality, Deputy David Stanton, is also working on this. This morning I attended an event hosted by the Gaelic Players Association. GAA players, who are ambassadors for sport and role models for young people, are working hard on the issue of addiction to drugs, drink or gambling. In many cases, the latter addiction is the worst of all.

The general scheme of the gambling control Bill was published in July 2013 following approval by the Government, which I am sure Deputy Howlin will recall. The scheme was then referred to the Oireachtas Joint Committee on Justice, Defence and Equality. That committee received 29 submissions and held public hearings. It finalised its report on 6 November 2013 which considered eight conclusions, and that report was laid before the Houses.

That 2013 scheme provides for the conferring of responsibility for all regulatory matters in this area on the Minister for Justice and Equality, including licensing, inspections and prosecution. It is envisaged that these functions will be carried out by a body located within the Department of Justice and Equality. That scheme also provided for a dedicated inspectorate to ensure compliance by licence holders with the terms of their licences and the new legislation generally.

On the current situation, it remains the intention to proceed with this legislation at the earliest opportunity. Quite a lot of legislation has been coming through, as the Deputy is aware. I will regard it as a priority and I will have the Minister of State, Deputy Stanton, update Deputy Howlin on the current state of progress in respect of the Bill.