Pat Deering (Carlow-Kilkenny, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

The purpose of today's meeting is consideration of the Revised Estimates for public services 2019, Vote 30 - Agriculture, Food and the Marine, which was referred to the committee by the Dáil. I welcome the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine, Deputy Creed, and his officials. The format proposed for today's meeting is that we will deal with Vote 30 programme by programme. The Minister will make an opening statement on each of the five programmes at the outset. We will then consider each programme separately or see how the discussion goes at the time. Before I begin, I remind members to make sure their mobile phones are turned off. 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.