Seán Crowe (Dublin South West, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

I welcome the witnesses to our meeting this morning. They will provide an update on the recent cyberattack, the Covid-19 vaccination roll-out and the public health restrictions in maternity hospitals. From the HSE, we have Mr. Paul Reid, chief executive officer; Ms Anne O'Connor, chief operations officer, Dr. Colm Henry, chief clinical officer; Mr. Fran Thompson, chief information officer; and Mr. Damien McCallion, national lead of the Covid-19 vaccination programme.

Before we hear their opening statements, I need to point out to our witnesses that there is uncertainty as to whether parliamentary privilege will apply to evidence that is given from a location outside the parliamentary precincts of Leinster House. Therefore, if they are directed by me to cease giving evidence on a particular matter, they must respect that direction. I believe the witnesses are within the precincts of Leinster House today, so it does not really apply.

I call Mr. Reid to make his opening remarks. He is most welcome.