Apologies have been received from Lady Sylvia Hermon, MP, Senator Joe O'Reilly, Mr. Eddie McGrady, MP, and Deputy Ruairí Quinn. There may be others later. Before we begin, I would like to express sympathy and condolences to Lady Sylvia Herman on the death of her father, Samuel Robert Paisley, who passed away recently.
I welcome everybody here today, including our two Ministers from Northern Ireland, Mr. Pat Doherty, MP, and our three commissioners. We are delighted to have you all. I remind committee members, witnesses and those in the public gallery to ensure that all mobile telephones are switched off for the duration of this meeting, as they cause interference with the recording equipment in our committee rooms.
The minutes of the meeting on 3 July have been circulated. Are there any matters arising? Are the minutes agreed? Agreed. We have a letter dated 15 July from the office of the Minister for Transport, Deputy Dempsey, responding to outstanding questions raised at his recent appearance before the committee. I propose to note this correspondence. Is that agreed? Agreed. The secretariat is finalising arrangements for the delegation travelling to Lochum in Germany from 16 to 19 October. There is currently one vacancy on the delegation from the Opposition side. Any committee member from the Opposition who is interested but who has not yet indicated should notify the clerk as soon as possible, preferably before the end of this meeting. I understand that MPs from Northern Ireland have been invited separately, and we look forward to meeting them in Germany that weekend.