Pat Breen (Clare, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

If there are no matters arising from the minutes, we will proceed with the main purpose of this afternoon's meeting. I remind members, witnesses and those in the Visitors Gallery to ensure their mobile telephones are switched off completely for the duration of the meeting as they cause interference, even on silent mode, with the recording equipment in committee rooms. Before commencing I congratulate Mr. Niall Burgess on his appointment as Secretary General of the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade. He succeeds Mr. David Cooney, the outgoing Secretary General, who will retire at the end of April. Mr. Burgess has been director general of the Anglo-Irish division at the Department of Foreign Affairs since August 2010 and he served as Consul General in New York, as well as in Chicago, Geneva, Brussels and with the consul secretariat in the European Union. He brings a wealth of experience to the job. We wish him well and I am sure we look forward to working with him when he takes up his appointment on 29 April 2014. We also wish Mr. David Cooney well, as he has been an excellent Secretary General. Holding the position of ambassador to the Vatican, he has been an exceptional public servant, demonstrating major commitment throughout his career.