Aodhán Ó Ríordáin (Dublin North Central, Labour) | Oireachtas source

I welcome the Minister of State, Deputy Sherlock. Before we commence, I wish to draw attention to the fact that by virtue of by virtue of section 17(2)(l) of the Defamation Act 2009, witnesses are protected by absolute privilege in respect of the evidence they give to the committee. If they are directed by it to cease giving evidence on a particular subject and continue to do so, they are entitled thereafter only to qualified privilege in respect of their evidence. Witnesses are directed that only evidence connected with the subject matter of these proceedings is to be given and asked to respect the parliamentary practice to the effect that, where possible, they should not criticise or make charges against an individual or an entity either by name or in such a way as to make him, her or it easily identifiable. I advise also that submissions and opening statements will be published on the committee's website following this meeting.