State pays €570k for lottery advice

The Government has paid a firm of consultants almost €570,000 to date for advice on the awarding of the new National Lottery licence.

The sale of the licence is expected to generate between €300m and €400m in revenue for the State.

In a written Dáil reply, Public Expenditure Minister Brendan Howlin confirmed Davy Corporate Finance has received €568,875 for providing financial and commercial advice in relation to the award.

A spokeswoman for his department said the contract with Davy began in Oct 2012 and is due to conclude this October. The company is advising on the structure and timing of the competition for the licence, along with preparing documents.

The deadline for receipt of applications for the new lottery licence is Sept 16 and the spokeswoman said “it is envisaged that the next licence will be awarded in the final quarter of 2013 and that, subject to transitional arrangements, the new licence will commence before the end of 2014”.