Dominic Hannigan (Meath East, Labour) | Oireachtas source

The committee is in public session. I remind people to turn off their mobile phones so that we do not cause interference with the recording equipment. I can inform Deputy Crowe that we will try to finish the first session by 2.45 p.m. and the second session by 3.30 p.m.

We have two substantive items on the agenda this afternoon. Later we will have a discussion with the Lithuanian Ambassador to Ireland to discuss the introduction of the euro in 2015. The ambassador is seated in the Gallery and I look forward to hearing from him later.

The first item on the agenda is the issue of voting rights of citizens within the European Union. On behalf of the committee, I welcome Ms Barbara Nolan, head of the European Commission Representation in Ireland, and Ms Eimear Ní Bhroin, political affairs officer. Members will be aware of the Commission's recently published communication and recommendation regarding the voting rights of EU citizens exercising their right to free movement within the Union. The Commission criticised a number of member states for not giving voting rights to their citizens in national elections. Ireland, along with Malta, Denmark and the United Kingdom, was also cited for disenfranchising voters who had exercised their right to move within the EU. Today's meeting will provide the European Commission with the opportunity outline the rationale for that guidance that they gave us a month ago. In the coming weeks we will hear from a cross-section of opinion on this so that we can carefully consider how to progress this important issue for the many Irish communities based in other EU member states.

Before we begin, I remind members of the long-standing parliamentary practice to the effect that they should not comment on, criticise or make charges against a person or body outside the Houses or an official either by name or in such a way that he, she or it could be identifiable. By virtue of section 17(2)(l) of the Defamation Act 2009, witnesses are protected by absolute privilege in respect of their evidence to the committee. If they are directed by the committee to cease giving evidence in respect of a particular matter and they continue to do so, they are entitled thereafter only to a qualified privilege in respect of their evidence. They are directed that only evidence connected with the subject matter of these proceedings today is to be given and they are asked to respect the parliamentary practice that, where possible, they should not criticise or make charges against any person or entity by name or in such a way as to make him, her or it identifiable.

I now invite Ms Nolan from the European Commission to give her views.