Seán Fleming (Laois, Fianna Fail)

I thank the Senator. We have had a good run around. Everybody has had an opportunity.

There were several themes I picked up there, including what Senator Flynn said. One issue was the cost. I am putting the Department of public expenditure on notice to take this into consideration for next week. If somebody draws up a plan and it is to be built this year, the figure will be X, for example, but the people who are putting a plan forward at Government level or agency level know it could be five, seven or eight years' time or, more likely, ten years' time before the project is constructed. We want the figure provided on day one to be the estimate of final projected costs, not on the basis that it will be here within 12 months because that is unreal. I often wonder whether they put in the low cost so that nobody will object too much at the beginning, low-balling with a figure in order to get it rolling and there will be another row three years later about the second phase. That is before considering the issue of staffing when we get there. We have seen it with school building projects. There is a 1,000-student school in Portlaoise that, from the day the site was acquired to the time the school will be open, will take nearly a decade. I do not get it. That is important as well.

There is one issue we did not mention. With all of these things, one can build nothing in this day and age without considering the various environmental directives and regulations. It is a fact of life.

Those matters are being adequately dealt with.

Somebody mentioned the issue of strategic projects and whether more should go directly to An Bord Pleanála. Many projects cross a couple of county boundaries. We even see it in the private sector. With a wind farm, for example, they might have to apply to three different counties for the one wind farm, depending on the location. In its own way, that is not logical. It makes the process more bitty. It will end up in An Bord Pleanála anyway; we know that. Those are the kinds of issues we will have to consider, but today, it is only the opening remarks.

I will move on to a few other items. Regarding our work programme, we will work on that. To give a date, I suggest we try to agree the new work programme three weeks from today if, in a fortnight, members can submit the particular topics they want. In the meantime, we have agreed to bring in the Secretary General of the Department of public expenditure and reform, the senior people in Uisce Éireann for the second meeting, and Transport Infrastructure Ireland and the National Transport Authority for the third meeting. I think we will bring the last two together because the one thing we do not want is somebody here saying it is the responsibility of another body. We want the two of them, side by side. By then, we will have our work programme for the months ahead and everybody will contribute. That is really to get the process up and running at this stage.

Like all committees, we may choose to elect a Leas-Chathaoirleach who can perform duties and exercise the authority of the Cathaoirleach in my absence. Members may wish to consult each another and send in nominations to the clerk to the committee in order that we can consider this matter at a future meeting. We will allow a fortnight for that as well.

Given I am a Government representative, I suggest the Leas-Chathaoirleach come from the Opposition. That would be fair. I will leave it with the members. The members can disagree with me but I merely throw that open. The members should talk among themselves and, within a fortnight, if they want to send in a nomination to the clerk of the committee, we can discuss it then at a future meeting and elect a Vice Chair. I hope I have not upsetting anyone by saying that now.

On the correspondence arrangements, we will get some correspondence at this committee. They are considered official documents and are circulated to the committee in the same way through the MS Teams platform. In general, correspondence should be received by the committee by a certain day and by a certain time for us to consider it. As we meet on a Wednesday from now on, and this will be our regular slot, I propose the cut-off time of close of business on the Monday of the meeting week in order that it can be circulated or made available to members for the Tuesday in advance and that gives people enough time. Any correspondence on hand will be available to the committee through the Teams system. There will be a notification advising people that there is something there but we will not email every document to every person. People can read them, download them and choose to print off what they want. Is that agreed? Agreed. That is the way across the Houses.

I mentioned the work programme. We will take three weeks for people - two weeks to have the documentation in and then agree the work programme, we hope, by week three.

On other items, I have said we have agreed who to invite for the first few meetings and I have mentioned the issue of the Leas-Chathaoirleach. There is organising and conducting public meetings. I note that members are committed to joining these meetings on MS Teams only while they are in Leinster House because, as I explained earlier, the Constitution says it has to be where Parliament sits and it sits here. I propose that unless exceptional circumstances arise, such as some housekeeping issues on the agenda today, we will conduct our meetings in public. I like to do all the meeting in public, bar some internal stuff, which we will come to with the secretariat in a moment. Is it agreed? Agreed. Generally, it will be public session except where there is a good reason for not going into public session.

We also want to be conscious of the expectations of the public and we need to use our meeting time well. I request that all members provide at least 24 hours' notice, if possible, to the secretariat if they are not coming so that we know where we are in relation to a quorum.

For the purpose of committee meetings, I propose to take speakers as they indicate. I will try to be fair and balanced across the Government and Opposition.

I have seen other committees with two or three designated members - a lead speaker and a second lead speaker - and everybody knows they are not going there for the first three quarters of an hour. The earlier you come to meetings of this committee and get your hand up, the earlier you get in. I think it is fair to reward attendance at the meetings.

Regarding other routine items, press releases are usually prepared and sent to the media outlets on behalf of the committee by the Oireachtas communications unit. The press releases are informational and draw attention to what will be examined at the next meeting. They normally include a comment from the Chairperson about who is coming before the committee. It is not practical to get this approved weekly so I propose that the Cathaoirleach work with the clerk to prepare and send out regular meeting press releases. If any member wishes for this practice to be reviewed at a later date, we can raise it as we go along. Is that agreed? Agreed. That will be the standard practice. All committees will send out a press release regarding what is coming up.

We have dealt with most of our issues. I propose we go into private session to allow us to talk to the secretariat. We will then come back into public session for a minute to formally close the meeting.