Paul McAuliffe (Dublin North West, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

Apologies have been received from the Chair, Deputy Steven Matthews, who has been selected for oral parliamentary questions with the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage this morning in the convention centre, and therefore cannot be here.

Today, we are joined by Dr. Austin O'Carroll, HSE clinical lead for the Dublin Covid-19 homeless response, who was commissioned by the Dublin Regional Homeless Executive, DRHE, on behalf of the four Dublin local authorities, to review the mortality of persons experiencing homelessness during 2020.

Members have been provided with a copy of Dr. O'Carroll's report. I thank him for joining us today. I invite Dr. O'Carroll to make his opening statement, following which, members will be invited to ask questions. Members should limit their questioning to five minutes initially. We may be able to have a second round of questioning at the end. I remind members that this is a 90-minute session. We will get through as many contributors on the rota as possible.

I will make a quick comment on privilege. Members attending remotely within the Leinster House complex are protected by absolute privilege in respect of the presentations they make to the committee. This means they have an absolute defence against any defamation action for anything they say at the meeting. However, they are expected not to abuse this privilege. It is my duty as Chair to ensure that privilege is not abused. Therefore, if their statements are potentially defamatory in relation to an identifiable person or entity, they will be directed to discontinue their remarks and it is imperative that they comply with any such direction. I remind members of the constitutional requirement that they must be within the confines of the place where the Parliament has chosen to sit, namely, Leinster House or the convention centre, in order to participate in this meeting.

For witnesses attending remotely, there are some limitations to parliamentary privilege and, as such, they may not benefit from the same level of immunity from legal proceedings as a person who is physically present in the building.

Members are reminded of the long-standing parliamentary practice to the effect that they shall not comment on, criticise or make charges against a person outside of the Houses or an official either by name or in such a way as to make him or her identifiable.

The opening statement submitted by Dr. O'Carroll to the committee will be published on the committee website after the meeting.

I welcome Dr. O'Carroll to the meeting, particularly in light of the committee's work on the forthcoming launch of our report on homelessness. I invite him to make his opening statement.