Steven Matthews (Wicklow, Green Party) | Oireachtas source

Members and people looking in are very welcome to the Oireachtas Select Committee on Housing, Local Government and Heritage. We are meeting to look at the Revised Estimates: Vote 16 - Tailte Éireann; Vote 23 - the Electoral Commission, An Coimisiún Toghcháin; and Vote 34 - Housing, Local Government and Heritage.

I welcome the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage, Deputy Darragh O'Brien, the Minister of State, Deputy Alan Dillon, and the Minister of State, Deputy Malcolm Noonan, to the select committee this afternoon. They are joined by their officials. I thank all for their attendance.

As a first item of business, the draft imeachtaí for 12 November 2020 have been circulated. Are the imeachtaí agreed? The imeachtaí of 12 November 2020 are agreed.

No. 2 is the Revised Estimates. While the committee has no role in actually approving the Estimates, there is an opportunity for the committee to make the process more transparent and to engage in a meaningful way on the relevant performance issues. The Minister will give the committee a high-level overview of the Revised Estimates and the Department's performance related to expenditure in each programme area. I ask the Minister to keep this to five minutes. We will then go to members to ask questions on the documentation circulated.