Seán Crowe (Dublin South West, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

I welcome the witnesses to our meeting. They are all presenting remotely and will provide an update on the implementation of Sláintecare. They are Ms Laura Magahy, executive director, Sláintecare, who is joined by Ms Ciara Mellett, Ms Caroline Pigott and Ms Grainne Healy, and from the HSE we have Mr. Dean Sullivan, chief strategy officer.

Before we begin I must read out the usual note on privilege. It is a standard procedure and I apologise for delaying the meeting. Before we hear the witnesses' opening statements, I need to point out that there is uncertainty if parliamentary privilege applies to witnesses giving evidence from a location outside the parliamentary precincts of Leinster House. I ask our guests to note that the constitutional protection afforded to witnesses presenting in person in Leinster House may not extend to those presenting remotely. No clear guidance can be given on whether, or the extent to which, the evidence given is covered by absolute privilege of a statutory nature. Therefore, if a witness is directed by the Chair to cease giving evidence on a particular matter, he or she must respect that direction.

The witnesses' presentations have already been circulated to members of the committee. They will have ten minutes in total to make their submission. We are working to a two-hour window for a meeting. I look forward to the witnesses' submission.