Recruitment of ‘gambling tsar’ is being fast-tracked
THE Government is ‘fast-tracking’ the appointment of Ireland’s gambling tsar to next year ahead of the establishment of the country’s first regulatory authority for betting.
Legislation to establish the regulator’s office will not be completed until 2023.
However, Junior Justice Minister James Browne, who is heading up the process, said the new regulator will be appointed next year so they can ‘hit the ground running when the office is set up’.
The unusual move is indicative of the growing concern within Government about the escalating impact of internet gambling on the lives of people. Mr Browne told the Irish Mail on Sunday: ‘We are fasttracking the response. The legislation will not be completed until 2023 but we want to get the regulator in next year. A response to gambling is absolutely a matter of urgency; this is a crisis that is constantly changing and evolving at great speed.’
The new post was signed off four weeks ago by the Department of Public Expenditure and the appointment will be made under the Public Appointments System (PAS). The pay grade for the CEO has been set at the assistant secretary general rate of between €143,845 to €164,549.
A Department of Justice spokesperson confirmed: ‘As part of Budget 2022, €500,000 has been allocated to meet the costs of appointing the CEO designate as well as non-pay related costs in establishing the authority. This will be added to the initial seed funding of €200,000 in Budget 2021. This €700,000 will cover start-up costs including accommodation and professional services.’
The spokesperson added: ‘The position will be advertised by way of open public competition in early 2022 with appointment coming later in the year, in line with general PAS procedures and public service recruitment principles.’
However, prior to the passing of the legislation, Mr Browne said the new regulator, when appointed, will ‘engage in a scoping exercise to identify what budgets and staff they need. They will be expected to identify the support workers they need, the experts whatever is required.
‘This will allow them to hit the ground running when the office is set up as distinct to waiting until 2023 to make these decisions.’
The establishment of the new gambling regulator is set against the backdrop of a major void when it comes to the provision of addiction services in Ireland.
The HSE treated just 224 people for gambling in 2019. This is despite the findings of a recent academic report, titled Gambling Trends, Harms and Responses, which found up to 55,000 men and women are now believed to have ‘a serious gambling disorder’.
Confirmation of the treatment the HSE provided for just 224 gambling addicts was supplied in response to a parliamentary question from Sinn Féin TD Louise O’Reilly.
Deputy O’Reilly also asked for statistics that may indicate if the pandemic has ‘exacerbated problem gambling’.
In response to the queries, the HSE confirmed it dealt with 265 gambling cases in 2019. Of these, 224 were ‘treated’, while a further 41 were just ‘assessed’. This represented a slight increase on the previous year, when 217 problem gamblers were treated and a further 37 assessed.
Despite the reported rising levels of gambling addiction in recent years, the HSE figures for 2019 represented a decrease in the number of cases it dealt with when compared to 2017, when 219 people were treated and a further 54 were assessed. Figures for 2020 are not yet available.
Minister Browne insisted that dealing with gambling is now a priority issue for the Coalition.
‘There is absolute awareness that this is a major social crisis and a public health concern,’ he said.
‘We protect our children from alcohol and tobacco. This has equally huge public health consequences across all generations.’
‘This is a major social crisis’