Joe McHugh (Donegal North East, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I apologise for the delay in starting this part of the meeting. I am sure the members of the InterTradeIreland delegation, and those they represent in the work they are involved in, will have been interested in the subject matter of the first part of the meeting. On behalf of the committee, I welcome the officials who are in attendance at this meeting to discuss the issue of all-island economic development. I welcome Mr. Thomas Hunter McGowan, who is InterTradeIreland's chief executive officer; and Mr. Aidan Gough, who is the organisation's strategy and policy director. The members of this committee are familiar with Mr. Gough because we have bumped into each other before. We look forward to hearing more about the work that InterTradeIreland is involved with at local level, with particular reference to the global and cross-Border implications of that work.

Before I invite Mr. Hunter McGowan to make his presentation, I advise him and Mr. Gough that they are protected by absolute privilege in respect of utterances at this committee. However, if they are directed by it to cease making remarks on a particular matter and continue to do so, they are entitled thereafter only to qualified privilege in respect of their remarks. They are directed that only cognisant evidence on the subject matter of this meeting is to be given and are asked to respect the parliamentary practice to the effect that, where possible, they should not criticise or make charges against a Member of either House of the Oireachtas, a person outside the Houses or an official by name or in such a way as to make him or her identifiable. I ask Mr. Hunter McGowan to proceed with his opening statement.