Neale Richmond (Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

We are now back in public session. I thank the witnesses for their patience. It looks like we will be continuing through lunch so we have all had to re-juggle our office agendas a bit. I am delighted to welcome representatives from both the British Medical Association Northern Ireland Council and the Irish Medical Organisation. Their contributions today will be very timely and will feed in what has been a marathon series of sittings of this committee, leading into a report that is starting to resemble 17 volumes of a phone book at this stage, though we might try to slim it down. We have been looking at seven key sectoral areas, the eighth being the future of Europe. This is the seventh, not through preference but as dictated by the time it took to get everyone that we wanted here. We are really looking forward to witnesses' contributions this afternoon and to a few follow-up questions. Please bear with me as I read the note of privilege before we begin.

Members are reminded of the longstanding parliamentary practice to the effect that members should not comment on, criticise or make charges against a person outside the Houses or an official, either by name or in such as way as to make them identifiable. By virtue of section 17(2)(l) of the Defamation Act 2009, witnesses are protected by absolute privilege in respect of their evidence at the committee. If you are directed by the committee to cease giving evidence on a particular matter and you continue to so do, you are entitled thereafter only to a qualified privilege in respect of your evidence. You are directed that only evidence connected with the subject matter of these proceedings is to be given and you are asked to respect the parliamentary practice to the effect that, where possible, you should not criticise or make charges against any person, persons or entity by name or in such a way to make him, her or it identifiable.

With that out of the way I invite Dr. John Woods to make his opening remarks. When he is finished I will go straight on the next witness and we will then take questions at the end.