# Irish lottery may be sold

- Link: https://fundraising.co.uk/2011/09/16/irish-lottery-may-be-sold/
- Published: 2011-09-16T06:00:31+01:00
- Author: Howard Lake

Irish deputy prime minister, or Tanaiste, Eamon Gilmore has confirmed that the Government
is considering selling off the National Lottery as part of its review of state assets.

The National Lottery raised €244 million for charity in 2010. Since it was established
22 years ago it has raised over €3.6 billion for charity, supporting the themes 
of youth, sports and amenities; health and welfare; arts, culture and national heritage,
and the Irish Language.

Mr Gilmore told RTE News that the coalition was committed to selling off €2 billion
worth of assets and that it was looking into how much the sale of the National Lottery
and other assets could generate.

## Advertisement

 [⌊Posthub advert. You create the campaign. We'll handle the postal journey. Get started at post-hub.co.uk.⌉](https://fundraising.co.uk/ads/posthub-20261007-300x250/)

He said: “No decision has been made. It’s a case of the Government looking at what
the options are and that’s one of the options.”

He added that, if it were to be sold, the government would ensure that the amount
it contributes to community, arts and sports initiatives would be protected.

Deirdre Garvey, Chief Executive of charity umbrella group, The Wheel, said the National
Lottery sale must not adversely affect charities in Ireland. She added that if the
lottery were sold off consideration should be given to a model similar to that in
the UK.

www.lottery.ie

 * **[Twitter-based lottery aims to fundraise for charities](https://fundraising.co.uk/2011/10/06/twitterbased-lottery-aims-fundraise-charities/)**(
   6 October 2011)
 * **[Fundraising through gaming](https://fundraising.co.uk/2011/12/16/fundraising-through-gaming/)**(
   16 December 2011)
 * **[SpecialEffect to benefit from Play for Good online gaming initiative](https://fundraising.co.uk/2011/12/21/specialeffect-benefit-play-good-online-gaming-initiative/)**(
   21 December 2011)
