Apologies have been received from Deputies Ardagh, Varadkar and Kirk. I ask members to ensure that their mobile telephones are switched off and not just left in silent mode for the duration of the meeting. Otherwise, the vibrations of the telephones when calls are received will affect the broadcast transmission adversely.
The joint committee went into private session at 4.03 p.m. and resumed in public session at 4.10 p.m.