THE NATIONAL LOTTERY may be included amongst the state assets being considered for sale by the government.
RTÉ reports that the Lotto, which employs 100 people and receives about €770 million from sales, is being valued to determine how much it could potentially raise if it were to be included on a programme to dispose of state assets.
A final decision on the matter is expected to take some time.
In February, the McCarthy Report recommended a planned programme of state asset sales to contribute towards the reduction of national debt, saying that it was “not sustainable for the state to continue to borrow at current levels and all avenues for reducing expenditure and raising additional revenues must be explored”.
Among the recommendations of the report was the sale of the National Stud and the state’s shares in Aer Lingus.
Meanwhile, earlier today, the government indicated that it will have to cut expenditure in the Department of Social Protection – which was allocated €14.2 billion in last year’s Budget. The government said that it was still committed to maintaining social welfare rates, but that overall welfare spending would be reduced by other means.
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