Brian Stanley (Laois-Offaly, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

The time limit of two hours is very restrictive and I have tried to stretch that five minutes out, particularly where a member is in the middle of trying to get an answer or an Accounting Officer is in the process of answering a question. I have tried to stretch it to six or seven minutes and to get a second round of questions in. We have managed that, I think, at every meeting since last September. Please God everything will go well with vaccinations and with Covid-19 and we will move into a situation where we can have longer meetings and get all members into one room, where I will be able to see the whites of members’ eyes. There is better chemistry where people are in one room. Online is an improvisation but it is not as satisfactory. For now, however, we are bound by the health regulations. We can reschedule another meeting. We will be bringing them back in on emergency accommodation. For the other matters, we should seek to do that as well. There is a big spend on housing, which is welcome. Some of us would argue for more but that is a separate issue. It is important we deal with that Department as fully as possible. We will try to do that.

Last week, we agreed our draft report on our engagement with the Office of Public Works, OPW. We asked the clerk how we might launch the report. A launch on the Plinth is not seen as practical for committee report launches as there are difficulties with physical distancing, limitations on numbers attending and the weather, although it is supposed to pick up. The AV room also has restrictions on the numbers that can attend.

It is possible to launch the report on Teams. While we would need a committee room for it to be a public broadcast, we could also hold a launch on Teams that is not publicly broadcast. The advantages of that are we would not need a committee room to do it, there are no restrictions on the numbers of members or journalists attending, members can join remotely from a place of their choosing as it is not a formal meeting of the committee and the launch can be recorded and published on the committee’s web page. I propose that, subject to the necessary arrangements being made on time, we launch the report at 12 noon on Thursday after our public meeting with the Department of Transport. As usual, a press release will be send out by email and shared on social media. Are members happy to agree to that approach? Agreed.

If no member wishes to raise any other matter, we will adjourn until Thursday, 27 May at 9.30 a.m., when we will engage with the Department of Transport.