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

I thank the members of the committee for agreeing the schedule, which we have met ahead of time. Co-operation was required to do so and in respect of how votes and other matters were managed. It allowed us to concentrate our time on the debates rather than taking time out to physically vote. That was appreciated. Given that it was my first time going through and handling this process, it was something of a learning curve for me. The learning curve was made easier for me because of the role of the clerk and the other administrative officials in laying out the schedule and because of the assistance they gave the committee, the Minister of State, Deputy Hayes, and the Minister for Finance, Deputy Noonan, in recent days. The Minister's ability to operate with little prompting from officials beggars belief at times. I do not know how he keeps all that information inside his head. On my behalf and on behalf of the committee, I express my appreciation for the way the procedures were conducted and for the assistance of officials and everyone else.