Steven Matthews (Wicklow, Green Party) | Oireachtas source

We meet to review progress on the committee's interim report on homelessness, which was published last year. I apologise for the delay in starting the meeting. The Order of Business in the Dáil delayed some of us. The Seanad is sitting so Senators may have to go in and out as Seanad business requires.

We are joined from the Department of Housing, Local Government and Heritage by Ms Caroline Timmons, assistant secretary, and Ms Rosemary Tobin, principal officer for homelessness policy; and from the Dublin Region Homeless Executive, DRHE, by Ms Mary Hayes, director, and Mr. John Durkan, deputy director. We are joined remotely by two representatives from Waterford City and County Council, Ms Sinéad Breathnach, homeless lead for the south-east region, and Mr. Ivan Grimes, director of services; and by Patrick O'Sullivan, principal officer for social policy from the Department. Members have been circulated with the briefing documents and opening statements from the witnesses.

I will first ask witnesses to give their opening statements and keep them to about five minutes because we are quite constrained on time. Then we will go to members' questions and answers slots, which will be six minutes each. We should be able to fit everybody into the two hours.

I remind members of the constitutional requirement that members must be physically present within the confines of the place where the Parliament has chosen to sit, namely, Leinster House, in order to participate in public meetings. Those attending remotely from within the Leinster House complex are protected by absolute privilege in respect of their contribution to today's meeting. This means that they have an absolute defence against any defamation action for anything they say at the meeting. For witnesses attending remotely from outside the Leinster House complex, 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 within the Leinster House complex.

Both members and witnesses are expected not to abuse the privilege they enjoy and it is my duty as Chair to ensure that it is not abused. Therefore, if their statements are potentially defamatory in respect of an identifiable person or entity, they will be directed to discontinue their remarks and it is imperative that they comply with any such direction.

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

The opening statements submitted to the committee will be published on the committee website after the meeting. Our witnesses are welcome to assist us as we continue our work in the area of homelessness. When the committee formed in July or August 2020, it was an item every member wished to address. It was high on our agenda and still is. I thank the witnesses for their assistance. I ask them to make their statements. I will start with Ms Timmons, go on to Ms Hayes and then to Ms Breathnach.