Paul Kehoe (Wexford, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

No apologies have been received. I remind members and officials to ensure their mobile phones are switched off for the duration of the meeting as they interfere with the broadcasting equipment, even when on silent mode. The meeting has been convened to consider the Higher Education Authority Bill 2022. I remind members of the constitutional requirement that they must be physically present within the confines of Leinster House in order to participate in this session and if a vote is called. As agreed, the meeting will adjourn at 11 a.m., if not before, depending on where we are with the amendments, and will reconvene at 9.30 a.m. on Thursday, 31 March 2022.

I welcome the Minister for Further and Higher Education, Research, Innovation and Science and his officials. I remind members that should a vote be called, they must be physically present in the committee room to vote. Since other committees experienced technical issues over recent weeks, I ask for forbearance when votes are called. We are now moving to voting digitally. If a vótáil is called and a technical problem arises, the clerk will revert to conducting it in the traditional way. We will now proceed with our consideration of the Bill.