Maria Bailey (Dún Laoghaire, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

Members and visitors in the Public Gallery are asked to ensure that for the duration of the meeting their mobile phones are turned off completely or on airplane mode. It is not sufficient to turn phones on silent as this maintains a level of interference in the broadcasting system.

No. 4 on today's agenda is pre-legislative scrutiny of the general scheme of the prohibition of certain products containing plastic microbeads Bill 2018. I welcome Dr. Róisín Nash and Dr. Anne Marie Mahon of Galway Mayo Institute of Technology and Dr. Kevin Lynch from NUI Galway. I also welcome Ms Siobhán Dean of the Irish Cosmetics Detergents and Allied Products Association and Mr. John Chave of Cosmetics Europe.

I draw the attention of witnesses to the fact that 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. However, if they are directed by the committee to cease giving evidence on a particular matter and they continue to so do, 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 is to be given and asked to respect the parliamentary practice to the effect that, where possible, they should not criticise or make charges against any person, persons or entity by name or in such a way as to make him, her or it identifiable.

Members are reminded of the long-standing parliamentary practice to the effect that they should not comment on, criticise or make charges against a person outside the House or an official either by name or in such a way as to make him or her identifiable.

I invite Dr. Anne Marie Mahon to make her opening statement.