No apologies have been received. Before we begin, members now have the option of either being physically present in the committee room or joining the meeting via MS Teams, with the proviso that for meetings in public session, they must be in their Leinster House offices. Members may not participate in the meeting from outside the parliamentary precincts. If joining via MS Teams, please mute microphones when not making a contribution and please use the raise hand function to indicate. Please note that messages sent to the meeting chat are visible to all participants online. Speaking slots will be prioritised for members of the committee. Members and all attendees are asked to exercise personal responsibility in protecting themselves and others from the risk of contracting Covid-19. They are strongly advised to practice good hand hygiene. They will notice that seats have been removed in order to facilitate social distancing. I would urge them not to move any chair from its current position, which is also to maintain appropriate levels of social distance during and after the meeting. Masks, preferably of a medical grade, should be worn at all times during the meeting, except when speaking. I will ask for attendees' co-operation on this.
