Apologies have been received from Deputies Fahey, Noonan and O'Flynn. I remind members and those in the Visitors Gallery to ensure their mobile phones and BlackBerry devices are switched off completely for the duration of the meeting because they interfere with the sound recording equipment in the committee rooms.
The minutes of the meeting held on 14 October have been circulated. Are they agreed? Agreed.
Before commencing with proceedings of the meeting, I am sure members will join me in paying tribute to Ita O'Looney, a senior clerk with the secretariat, who is retiring this week after 38 years service in the Civil Service and 33 years of loyal service to the Houses of the Oireachtas. Having worked in various sections in the Houses, Ita has spent her final years working with the committee secretariat, in particular the Joint Committee on Foreign Affairs. I personally thank her for her diligence, respect and commitment during the years and particularly all the hard work she did for this committee in recent years, mainly in keeping us out of trouble. She was very efficient and effective and always on the ball. We could rely on her all the time. Her contribution to the committee will be missed. We wish her a long and happy retirement.