Niamh Smyth (Cavan-Monaghan, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I welcome our guests to this afternoon's session. We are meeting with representatives from Arts & Disability Ireland, Create Ireland, Ms Clare McLaughlin, artist, and Seen-Unseen collaborator Ms Carmen Millar. We will discuss accessibility for individuals with disabilities in arts and culture. We are particularly delighted to have the witnesses here today to discuss this theme. We are especially delighted to have Ms Millar with us to give her lived experience as somebody working in the arts who has a visual impairment. I thank everybody for being here with us today. We are streaming from committee room No. 1 if anybody is tuning in. I also welcome Ms Niamh Ní Chonchubhair, chair, and Mr. Pádraig Naughton, executive director, of Arts & Disability Ireland. I welcome Dr. Ailbhe Murphy, director of Create Ireland, who is joined by her colleague, the body's arts and engagement programme manager, Ms Áine Crowley.

The format of the meeting will be that I will give our guests the opportunity to make an opening statement, which is curtailed to three minutes. They should not be put off by that as we will have much time afterwards to tease out their ideas and thoughts. My colleagues will all have five minutes for questions and answers.

I have a little housekeeping to do so I hope the witnesses can bear with me. As I said, we will give them the opportunity to make opening statements but there are some limitations in parliamentary privilege and the practices in the House with regard to references that may be made to other persons in their evidence. The evidence of witnesses physically present or who give evidence from within the parliamentary precincts is protected by the Constitution and statute by absolute privilege. Witnesses are reminded of the long-standing parliamentary practice that they should not criticise or make charges against any person or entity by name or in such a way as to make him, her or it identifiable, or otherwise engage in speech that may be regarded as damaging to the good name of the person or entity. Therefore, if their statements are potentially defamatory to any identifiable person or entity they will be directed to discontinue their remarks.

Members 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 by name or in such a way as to make him or her identifiable. I now call our witnesses to make their opening statements. This is the most interesting part of our deliberations.