Jackie Cahill (Tipperary, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

For the second session of today's meeting, we are joined by representatives of Embrace FARM. I welcome Ms Norma Rohan, co-founder and general manager, Mr. Brian Rohan, co-founder and chairperson, and Ms Catherine Collins, development manager. The witnesses are all very welcome to the meeting.

The witnesses will be given ten minutes to make their opening statement, before we go into questions and answers. Before we begin, I have an important notice on parliamentary privilege. Witnesses are protected by absolute privilege in respect of the evidence they are to give to the committee. However, if they are directed by the committee to cease giving evidence on a particular matter and they continue to do so, they are entitled thereafter only to qualified privilege in respect of their evidence. They are directed that only evidence connected to the subject matter in these proceedings is to 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.

I now call on Ms Rohan to make her opening statement.