Steven Matthews (Wicklow, Green Party) | Oireachtas source

We are in public session and on our agenda is engagement with the Association of Irish Local Government, AILG, and the Local Authority Management Association, LAMA. I welcome both organisations. They had requested to come before the committee to discuss the Land Development Agency Bill and we are pleased to do so. To give some information on where we are with it at present, we expect to have Committee Stage in approximately two weeks time, on 25 and 27 May. We are also happy to discuss any aspect of local government with the witnesses and we can keep the range of topics as broad as we like. All of us come from a local authority background so we are fully aware of the pressures on councillors and the good work done by them the length and breadth of every county in the country. It has been my pleasure to work with councillors for many years on various topics and subjects. Over the years, I have always found our local authority members, district councillors and town councillors to be highly committed to the job and I appreciate the support of organisations such as those of the witnesses.

From the AILG I welcome Councillor Mary Hoade, president, Councillor John Joe Fennelly, vice president, and Councillor Anne Colgan, delegate. From LAMA we are joined by Councillor Michael Anglim, chair, Councillor John Sheahan, general secretary and Councillor Joe Malone, Oireachtas liaison officer. Members have been circulated with the opening statements from both organisations.

I will invite Councillor Hoade to make an opening statement for the AILG followed by Councillor John Sheahan to make a statement on behalf of LAMA, after which I will invite members to address questions. We will try to keep to five-minute slots for questions and responses, which will allow us time for a second round of questions.

Members attending remotely within the Leinster House complex are protected by absolute privilege in respect of the presentation they make to the committee. This means they have an absolute defence against any defamation action for anything they say at the meeting. However, they are expected not to abuse this privilege and it is my duty as Chair to ensure this privilege is not abused. I remind members of the constitutional requirement that members must be physically present within the confines of the place where Parliament has chosen to sit, which is Leinster House or the Convention Centre. For witnesses attending remotely there are some limitations to parliamentary privilege and as such they may not benefit from the same level of immunity from legal proceedings as a person who is physically present. 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. The opening statements submitted to the committee will be published on the committee website after the meeting.