Jackie Cahill (Tipperary, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

No apologies have been received. Deputy Paul Donnelly is substituting for Deputy Martin Browne. Before we begin, I remind members that in the context of the current Covid-19 restrictions only the Chairman and staff are present in the committee room. All committee members must join remotely from elsewhere within the parliamentary precincts. The secretariat can issue invitations to join the meeting on MS Teams. Members may not participate from outside the parliamentary precincts. Members should mute their microphones if they are not making a contribution and use the raised hand function to indicate. Please note that messages sent via messaging chat are visible to all participants. Speaking slots will be prioritised for members of the committee.

On the agenda for today is regulation of the sale and supply of pets and animal welfare. Today's meeting will be in two sessions. The first will be from 3.30 p.m. to 4.30 p.m. and will include engagement with representatives from Dogs Trust. The second, from 4.30 p.m. to 5.30 p.m., will include engagement with representatives from Horse Care Ireland.

I welcome, Ms Becky Bristow, executive director, and Mr. Conor Brennan, adviser, from the Dogs Trust. We have received their opening statement and briefing material, copies of which have been circulated to members. We are limited in our time due to Covid-19 safety restrictions. The committee has agreed that opening statements will be taken as read in order that we can use the full session for questions and answers. All opening statements are published on the Oireachtas website and are publicly available.

Before we begin, I will read an important notice on parliamentary privilege. Witnesses are protected by absolute privilege in respect of the evidence they will give to the committee. If, however, 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 a qualified privilege in respect of their evidence. They are directed that only evidence connected with the subject matter of these proceedings be given. They are asked to respect the parliamentary practice to the effect that, where possible, they should not criticise nor 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 committee meeting from a location outside the parliamentary precincts are asked to note that the constitutional protections afforded to those participating from 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 welcome our guests and invite questions from members. Senator Boylan has been pushing for this meeting for a while, so I will give her the first opportunity to ask questions.