Kieran O'Donnell (Limerick City, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

The public is under the impression that this is a certain deferral to 1 July. That is the impression the public has. We as a committee will be exploring that with Mr. Walsh. When the announcement was made on Thursday, my colleagues were in touch with me. I emailed them to say that it is something that we would like to address. Everyone was in agreement and that is why we proceeded. In fairness, the witnesses acquiesced to our request quickly. A lot has happened since and particularly today, and we want to do everything in real time for the public. Mr. Walsh may proceed with the opening statement.