John McGuinness (Carlow-Kilkenny, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

We are joined by the Minister of State at the Department of the Taoiseach, Deputy Chambers. I remind members to turn off their mobile phones and to observe the note on privilege, which provides that members who are in Leinster House or the convention centre have full privilege for the meeting. Members are asked to remove their masks when making a contribution as it will help with the quality of the sound recording.

We are dealing with the Revised Estimates for Vote 1 - President's Establishment, Vote 2 - Department of the Taoiseach, Vote 3 - Office of the Attorney General, Vote 4 - Central Statistics Office, Vote 5 - Office of the Director of Public Prosecutions, and Vote 6 - Office of the Chief State Solicitor. The format of the meeting will be that we will ask the Minister of State for an opening statement and then members will question the figures or facts before us. I invite the Minister of State to make his opening statement.