Bernard Durkan (Kildare North, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

-----and Deputy Doherty.

The first item of business are the minutes of the joint committee meetings of 8 and 9 December, which were agreed at the committee's private meeting yesterday. Are they in order and agreed? Agreed.

The second item is pre-legislative scrutiny of the insurance (miscellaneous provisions) Bill 2021. I welcome the members and viewers who may be watching our proceedings on Oireachtas TV to the public session of the Oireachtas Joint Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform, and Taoiseach. The purpose of today's meeting, which will be in three separate sessions, is to undertake pre-legislative scrutiny of the insurance (miscellaneous provisions) Bill 2021 with the Minister of State, Deputy Fleming, representatives of the Alliance for Insurance Reform and representatives of Insurance Ireland. We are joined first today by the Minister of State at the Department of Finance, Deputy Fleming, and his officials. The format of the meeting is that the Minister of State will make brief opening remarks that will be followed by a question and answer session with the members.

Witnesses need to be physically present or in the environs of Leinster House. Witnesses are reminded of the long-standing parliamentary practice to the effect that members should not comment on, criticise or make charges against a person outside the House or an official either by name or in a way such as to make him or her identifiable. Members who are attending remotely are reminded of the constitutional requirements that members must be physically present within the confines of the place which the Parliament has chosen to sit, namely, Leinster House.

I invite the Minister of State to make his opening remarks.