I welcome everyone to this public meeting of the Joint Committee on Autism. I have some formal notices before we start our business. All those present in the committee room are asked to exercise personal responsibility to protect themselves and others from the risk of contracting Covid-19.
I remind members of the constitutional requirement that they must be physically present within the confines of the place where Parliament has chosen to sit, namely, Leinster House, to participate in public meetings. I will not permit a member to participate where they are not adhering to this constitutional requirement. Therefore, any member who attempts to participate from outside the parliamentary precincts will be asked to leave.
For the information of members of the committee, the Seanad has agreed to our request to hold a special meeting with autism representative groups from around the country in the Seanad Chamber on Thursday, 2 March from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. At the request of the Working Group of Committee Cathaoirligh, we will endeavour to finish our meeting today at 2 p.m. Should it appear that the meeting will continue for a long period, we may take a short break for five minutes in the middle of the meeting.
The first item on our agenda is the minutes from our previous meetings. The question is that we approve the minutes of the public meetings held on 19 January 2023, 24 January 2023 and 31 January 2023. Is that agreed? Agreed.