Ciarán Lynch (Cork South Central, Labour) | Oireachtas source

We will commence session 5 of the pre-budget submissions and a roundtable discussion on agriculture and transport. I welcome Mr. Eddie Downey, president, and Mr. Pat Smith, general secretary, of the Irish Farmers Association, IFA; Mr. John Comer, president of the Irish Creamery Milk Suppliers Association, ICMSA; Mr. Denis Murphy, managing director of Blackwater Motors and Audi Cork; and Mr. Eoin Gavin, president of the Irish Road Haulage Association, IRHA.

The format of the meeting will be a roundtable discussion on agriculture and transport based on the pre-budget submissions received from the organisations before us. The witnesses will make their opening statements in the following order: the Irish Farmers Association, the Irish Creamery Milk Suppliers Association, Blackwater Motors and Audi Cork and the Irish Road Haulage Association. A question and answer session with members will then ensue. Given the time constraints involved, and to ensure we have a constructive debate, the opening statements will be three minutes each. Witnesses have already been advised by the committee secretariat that I will stop them if they go over their time limit. Each member is entitled to ask questions only once and the relevant witnesses can respond. I remind members, witnesses and those in the Visitors Gallery that all mobile telephones must be switched off as they interfere with the broadcasting and communication services in the committee room.

I advise the witnesses that by virtue of section 17(2)(l) of the Defamation Act 2009, they are protected by absolute privilege in respect of their evidence to the committee. However, if they are directed by the committee to cease giving evidence on a particular matter and they continue to do so, they will be entitled thereafter only to qualified privilege in respect of their evidence. They are directed that only evidence connected with the subject matter of these proceedings is to be given and they are asked to respect the parliamentary practice to the effect that, where possible, they should not criticise or make charges against any person, persons or entity by name or in such a way as to make him, her or it identifiable. Members are reminded of the long-standing ruling of the Chair to the effect that they should not comment on, criticise or make charges against a person outside the Houses or an official either by name or in such a way as to make him or her identifiable.

I invite Mr. Downey to commence his opening statement on the pre-budget submission and other witnesses will follow in the sequence I outlined.