1252. Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Minister for Justice, Home Affairs and Migration further to Parliamentary Question No. 72369/26 of 13 October 2026, whether money has been collected for or disbursed from the Gambling Social Impact Fund to date; and the date on which regulations under section 54 of the Gambling Regulation Act 2024 will be made. [75378/26]
1253. Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Minister for Justice, Home Affairs and Migration whether interim Exchequer funding will be provided to allow the Treatment and Recovery Supports strand of the Social Impact Fund, being developed with Pobal, to open to applicants before contributions from licensees are collected; the date on which he expects the first funding call under that strand to open; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [75739/26]
1254. Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Minister for Justice, Home Affairs and Migration the basis on which contributions to the Social Impact Fund will be calculated under section 54 of the Gambling Regulation Act 2024; whether contributions will be set as a percentage of turnover or of gross gaming revenue and the rate under consideration; whether the Gambling Regulatory Authority of Ireland made a recommendation to him on the rate in its strategy for the fund; if he will publish that strategy; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [75737/26]
1255. Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Minister for Justice, Home Affairs and Migration whether the regulations to be made under section 54 of the Gambling Regulation Act 2024 will provide that contributions to the Social Impact Fund are payable by licensees in respect of the full period since the first licences were issued by the Gambling Regulatory Authority of Ireland in July 2026, so that no contribution is foregone because of the time taken to make those regulations; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [75736/26]

Jim O'Callaghan, Minister for Justice, Home Affairs and Migration: I propose to take Questions Nos. 1252, 1267, 1268 and 1269 together.

Last year, I signed orders to commence the first provisions of the Gambling Regulation Act 2024 and establish the Gambling Regulatory Authority of Ireland (GRAI) from 5 March 2025. Once commenced, Part 2, Chapter 4 of the 2024 Act will provide for the establishment of a Social Impact Fund, financed through an obligatory contribution from commercial gambling licensees. No Exchequer funding is being provided to the Fund.

Section 54 of the Act provides for the making of regulations to set the percentage of licensees’ turnover (as defined in the Act) to be payable as a contribution to the Fund as well as the manner and date of payment. My department is currently working with the Office of the Attorney General on drafting these regulations with precise details of their effect and application still under consideration.

Once the draft regulations have been finalised, they will be submitted to the EU’s Technical Regulations Information System (TRIS). This means that the draft regulations will be available publicly and that a standstill period of at least 3 months will ensue, during which time the European Commission and other Member States can review them. These legal and procedural measures must be completed in order for the Fund to become operational.

Monies from the Fund will be used to support services to treat gambling addiction and fund public education and awareness-raising programmes. Section 51 of the Act provides that the GRAI may make payments from the Fund for purposes including:

- research, training, community interventions and other initiatives aimed at reducing or eliminating compulsive or excessive gambling and its social impacts;

- public education and awareness-raising measures that highlight the social impact of compulsive or excessive gambling, or inform the public about available resources;

- the provision of services for the treatment of participants engaged in compulsive or excessive gambling, and to others affected by it;

- cooperation with persons outside the State in research and training that will benefit persons in the State by reducing or eliminating compulsive or excessive gambling and the social impact of compulsive or excessive gambling; or

- projects, programmes or initiatives that are compatible with the purposes referred to above.