James Lawless (Kildare North, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I apologise for the delay. I was coming back from the Convention Centre and it takes a little time to cross the Liffey, with our bilocation. We had the Order of Business and then I was back across here. We have apologies from Deputy Patrick Costello. Deputy Martin Kenny was also in the Convention Centre and hopes to make it across but he might be late for the same reason as myself.

The purpose of our meeting is to consider the Perjury and Related Offences Bill 2018 which I think originated in the Seanad.

I welcome the Minister of State at the Department of Justice with responsibility for law reform, Deputy James Browne.

In order to participate in a division on Committee Stage, members must be physically present. They cannot vote remotely in light of the pandemic restrictions. In view of the remote participation of members, in order to ensure contributions are accurately recorded, I ask that members wait until I call them by name before commencing their contributions, and use their raise hand facility when they wish to speak. We will keep an eye out for same and if we do not see them, I am sure they will make their presence felt. This has worked smoothly so far. Due to Covid restrictions, each session is limited to two hours.