SALES of scratch cards issued by charities have collapsed because of restrictions meant to protect the National Lottery, the Minister for Finance has been told. The Rehab Group has asked for the restrictions to be lifted in tomorrow's Budget.
Other social service groups have asked for a weekly allowance of £20 to help parents pay for preschool education and for an independent appeals system for people refused money or services by health boards.
The Rehab Group says that income from its scratch cards has fallen from £12.5 million in 1987 to £5 million at present.
Regulations made in 1987 by the Minister for Justice limited the total of all prizes which could be awarded in a charity lottery to £10,000 per week. "As a result of this, and the huge growth of the National Lottery, charity lotteries have been unable to offer a product attractive to the public, and sales have collapsed", it says.
Rehab wants the ceiling on prizes from charity lotteries to be removed. "The total sales of all charity lotteries now amount to only £10 million a year, or 3 per cent of the market", it says. "Without some immediate action, even this level of sales may disappearentirely within the next few years.
A pre school allowance of £1,000 per annum for the parents, of children aged three to five years has been sought by the Irish.
Pre School Playgroups' Association. The allowance would help parents to pay for pre school services for their children.
A 30 year research programme in the United States had shown that preventive investment in early childhood education yielded a return of $7 for every $1 spent, the association says.
An independent and effective appeals system for people refused medical cards or health board payments should be introduced as a matter of priority, the National Social Service Board says. "Many of the community care services provided by the health boards do not have effective forms of redress for dissatisfied users", it adds.