Apologies have been received from Deputies Leo Varadkar, Ciarán Cuffe, Seán Sherlock and Kieran O'Donnell. Members should ensure their mobile phones are turned off completely and are not left in silent mode for the duration of the meeting as vibrations from the phones when calls are received adversely affect the broadcasting transmission.
The joint committee went into private session at 2.01 p.m. and resumed in public session at 2.10 p.m.