The first item of business on the agenda is the nomination and election of a Chairman. As clerk to the committee, I received notification on 29 September from Deputy Ciarán Lynch, item No. 1006, of his resignation as Chairman of the Joint Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform. Pursuant to Standing Order 91, I now invite nominations for the position of Chairman.
Election of Chairman
Clerk to the Committee
I nominate Deputy Liam Twomey.
I second that proposal.
Clerk to the Committee
As there are no other nominations, I declare Deputy Liam Twomey to be Chairman of the Joint Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform and call on him to take the Chair.
Deputy Liam Twomey took the Chair.
It is a great honour for me to fill the role of Chairman of the committee. I thank committee members for their nomination and support. I look forward to working with them in a genuine spirit of partnership and co-operation. With the experience and enthusiasm of all members, as shown to date, I am confident that this will continue to be a highly productive committee that discharges its functions in an efficient and enlightened way.
I thank Deputy Ciarán Lynch for the great work he did as Chairman and hope he will continue to work with us on the committee. We had a good and fruitful relationship. I wish him the very best in his difficult challenge at the banking inquiry. I welcome Deputy Ciara Conway who is taking over from Deputy Aodhán Ó Ríordáin.
I will try to be as fair and impartial as I can. I believe in maintaining a strong, united and non-partisan approach where all members can contribute and believe their efforts are worthwhile. This will help to ensure the best results and added value to the parliamentary committee process.