Damien English (Meath West, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

No apologies have been received. I welcome the Minister and his team here again today. I thank them for their time. I hope we will be able to deal with most of the Bill over the next couple of hours.

I welcome all the members. I also welcome the viewers who might be watching our proceedings in public session on Oireachtas TV to the Select Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform, and Taoiseach. We will resume Committee Stage consideration of the Future Ireland Fund and Infrastructure, Climate and Nature Fund Bill 2024.

Members are reminded of the long-standing parliamentary practice to the effect that they should not comment on, criticise or make charges against any person outside the House or an official, either by name or in such a way as to make him or her or identifiable. I remind members who are attending remotely of the constitutional requirement that they must be physically present within the confines of the place in which Parliament has chosen to sit, namely, Leinster House, in order to participate in public meetings. It is important to note that in order to participate in a division in a committee, members must be physically present in the committee room.

I will now refer to a bit of housekeeping. In order to provide for the smooth running of the meeting, any member acting in substitution for a member of the committee should formally notify the clerk now, if they have not already done so. I think we are okay in that regard. Divisions will be taken as they arise.

Members must attend in person in the committee meeting room for divisions, although they can attend the meeting remotely, in line with the Standing Order. Members attending this meeting, in accordance with Standing Order 106(3) should be aware that, pursuant to that Standing Order, they may move an amendment but cannot participate in voting on the amendment.

We will now resume discussion where we finished the last day, which was on section 8. Deputy Doherty was in possession.