I welcome the Minister and members of the committee. Members are reminded of the long-standing parliamentary practice to the effect that they should not comment on, criticise or make charges against a person outside the House or an official either by name or in such a way as to make him or her identifiable. Parliamentary privilege is considered to apply to the utterances of members participating online in a committee meeting when their participation is from within the parliamentary precincts. For this purpose, the parliamentary precincts are considered to be the accommodation assigned to the member in the Leinster House complex or its vicinity, or another location in Leinster House 2000. I ask the members to note that members may participate remotely in proceedings held in public only from the locations listed earlier as privilege to their utterances only applies when participating from these locations. It is also important to note that in order to participate in a division in committee, members must be physically present.
