Jackie Cahill (Tipperary, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I remind members that in the context of the Covid-19 restrictions, only the Chairman and staff are present in the committee room and all other members must join remotely from elsewhere within the parliamentary precincts. The secretariat can issue invitations to join the meeting on Microsoft Teams. Members may not participate in the meeting from outside the parliamentary precincts. I ask members to mute their microphones when they are not making contributions and use the "raise hand" function to indicate they wish to speak. Speaking slots will be prioritised for members of the committee.

The purpose of today's meeting is to discuss the challenges facing the agrifood sector as a result of Brexit. I welcome the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine, Deputy Charlie McConalogue, Mr. Paul Savage, assistant secretary with responsibility for Brexit, Ms Hazel Sheridan, senior superintending veterinary inspector and head of port operations, and Mr. Rob Doyle, deputy chief veterinary officer and director of imports controls division. All are joining remotely from a witness room in Kildare House.

Before we begin, I have an important notice on parliamentary privilege. Witnesses are protected by absolute privilege in respect of the evidence they will give to the committee. However, if they are directed by the committee to cease giving evidence in relation to a particular matter and they continue to do so they are entitled thereafter only to qualified privilege in respect of their evidence. They are directed that only evidence connected with the subject matter of these proceedings be given and they are asked to respect the parliamentary practice to the effect 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. Those participating in the committee meeting from a location outside the parliamentary precincts are asked to note that the constitutional protection afforded to those participating within the parliamentary precincts does not extend to them. No clear guidance can be given on whether, or the extent to which, participation is covered by the absolute privilege of a statutory nature.

I ask the Minister to make his opening statement. In the past 24 hours, members have seen media reports illustrating the way Brexit and trade can be impacted. There was a serious development in Northern Ireland overnight. There are various issues. The committee has received submissions from various stakeholders in the beef and dairy divisions. The questions of committee members will be mostly based on the questions posed by those stakeholders and the problems they are encountering in the first month of trading in the Brexit scenario. The Minister appeared before the committee in recent weeks on the issue of fisheries and the problems that sector is experiencing as a result of Brexit. We will concentrate today on the agrifood sector. The committee appreciates the Minister taking the time to address it.