Jackie Cahill (Tipperary, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I apologise for the delay starting the meeting. We had trouble getting one of the witnesses onto the call. Apologies have been received from Senator Lombard.

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

This meeting is on the rewetting of peatland and its impact on farmers. It will be divided into three sessions, the first of which will involve representatives of the Irish Farmers Association, IFA, the Irish Creamery Milk Suppliers Association, ICMSA, and the National Association of Regional Game Councils, NARGC. The second session, which will be from 5 p.m. until 5.15 p.m., will involve a briefing by Dr. David Wilson, a research scientist. The third session will be an engagement with officials from Bord na Móna.

I welcome the representatives from the IFA, ICMSA and NARGC. From the IFA, we have Mr. Tim Cullinan, president, and Mr. Brian Rushe, deputy president. From the ICMSA, we have Mr. Pat McCormack, president, and Mr. Pat O'Brien, a national council member from Offaly. From the NARGC, we have Mr. Dan Curley, chairman, and Mr. John Butler, a national executive member. All witnesses are appearing remotely. We have received their opening statements, which have already been circulated to members. Since we are limited in our time due to the Covid-19 safety restrictions, the committee has agreed that the opening statements will be taken as read so that we can use the full session for questions and answers.

I will outline an important notice regarding parliamentary privilege. Witnesses are protected by absolute privilege in respect of their evidence to the committee. However, if they are directed by it to cease giving evidence on a particular matter and 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 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. Participants in the meeting from a location outside the parliamentary precincts are asked to note that the constitutional protections afforded to those participating within the parliamentary precincts do not extend to them. No clear guidance can be given on whether, or the extent to which, their participation is covered by absolute privilege of a statutory nature.

I now invite questions from the members. Can they hear me? Did anyone hear my opening remarks?