Andrew Doyle (Wicklow, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I welcome the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine, Deputy Simon Coveney, and thank him for the briefing given to the select committee. The purpose of the meeting is to consider Vote 30, Revised Estimate for the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine. Before I ask the Minister to make an opening statement, I will briefly deal with the proposed timetable, copies of which have been circulated to members. Following the Minister's opening statement of approximately ten minutes, we will spend 20 minutes discussing administration, including a question and answer session. We will then deal in turn with each of the four programmes. While discussion of some programmes may take longer than 20 minutes, it is proposed to complete our discussion in two hours, although further time will be provided, if necessary. As the Minister noted, a consultation paper on the rural development programme has been circulated to us. While he may wish to expand on the paper, the secretariat has been in discussions with officials from the Department with a view to arranging a briefing for the joint committee. That is being done to be fair to non-Dáil members who do not sit on the select committee. I invite the Minister to make his opening statement.