Kathleen Funchion (Carlow-Kilkenny, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

I welcome everyone to the meeting.

I remind members of the constitutional requirement that they must be physically present within the confines of the place that Parliament has chosen to sit, namely, Leinster House, to participate in public meetings, so I cannot permit a member to participate where they are not adhering to that constitutional requirement. Any member who attempts to participate at the meeting from outside the precincts will be refused. Today's agenda is the Further Revised Estimates for public services - Vote 40, per the Dáil order on 29 March 2023 for the further Revised Estimates to be referred to this committee for consideration

At today's meeting, the select committee will consider these Further Revised Estimates and report back to the Dail. I remind members that only matters relevant to the Estimates for 2023 can be discussed. On behalf of the select committee, I welcome the Minister for Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth, Deputy Roderic O'Gorman, and the Minister of State at the Department of Children, Equality, Integration and Youth, Deputy Anne Rabbitte, and their officials here today.

Thank you both for being here and for the briefing material that was furnished in advance. We are particularly delighted that we are dealing with the disability section. It has been a long time in the making so this engagement is very welcome. The Minister of State is particularly welcome in this regard.

I will go through the format. We will ask each Minister to give an opening statement and these will be followed by questions and answers from the members who will have ten minutes each for questions. I will outline the rules on parliamentary privilege. I wish to advise that witnesses are protected by absolute privilege in respect to the presentation you make to the committee. This means that they have an absolute defence against any defamation action for anything they say at the meeting. However, they are expected not to abuse this privilege and it is my duty as Cathaoirleach to ensure this privilege is not abused. Therefore, if their statements are potentially defamatory in relation to any identifiable person or entity, they will be directed to discontinue your remarks and it is imperative that they comply with any such direction.

I call the Minister to deliver his opening statement.