I will seek a meeting next week of all the party Whips to work out a strategy to make meetings more streamlined and effective. Such a meeting will allow us to, at least, try to work out a system rather than have meetings drag on for two or three hours. I will talk to the Whips later. I suggest the meeting take place at 2 p.m. on Wednesday, 11 October. I hope this is acceptable to members. The meeting will be concerned with devising a process for meetings, covering such matters as the length of time people will be allowed to speak and the rotation of witnesses. Anything agreed at the meeting will be put before the committee for its agreement. There will be nothing slipshod about it. As I am aware members wish to be present in the Dáil and Seanad for the Order of Business, we will attend to the business of the committee.
The committee went into private session at 9.31 a.m. and resumed in public session at 9.50 a.m.