Last week was responsible gambling week. The gambling control Bill is important legislation dealing with a comprehensive licensing and regulatory framework for gambling. In an industry that is developing very quickly, with many new technologies ahead of pace, it is important that we have in place a regulatory system that will aid and assist those who suffer from problem gambling and address issues relating to advertising and so on. I would welcome an update on the status of this legislation?

I am sure that the Taoiseach is aware that we have the highest gambling losses in the world per head of population and the third highest for online gambling. I believe there is a hidden problem that we need to shine a light on. We have learned from our discussions on the Public Health (Alcohol) Bill that when we shine a light on an issue people feel able to come forward. The gambling control Bill was first mooted in 2013. Five years on, can the Taoiseach indicate when we will have an opportunity to debate it and to highlight many of the issues that we would be aware of from our constituency clinics?

A lot of work has been done on the Bill in the past 12 months. The legislation is with the Attorney General to provide for a number of specific changes to the current antiquated Gaming and Lotteries Act 1956 and I expect it will be published soon.

On the broader issue of gambling, this is a complex and evolving area of policy. We have carried out a lot of research in this area. On 10 January, I briefed Cabinet on the legislation and the Government approved proposals to make changes to the 2013 scheme of the gambling control Bill. The main changes are to establish an independent regulatory authority for the gambling industry. Under the 2013 approach the Minister was the regulator. This change in line with international best practice. A change is also being made to rationalise the licensing approach to gambling activities and to clarify the provisions concerning the licensing machines. We also recently established a working group, which I chair, comprising all stakeholder Departments and the Office of the Attorney General to develop a modern regulatory framework. The first meeting of this group took place on 1 February and a final report is to be submitted mid-2018.