Naoise Ó Muirí (Dublin Bay North, Fine Gael)

No apologies have been received for today. I advise members of the constitutional requirement that they must be physically present within the confines of the Leinster House complex in order to participate in public meetings. I will not permit a member to participate where he or she is not adhering to this constitutional requirement. Any member who attempts to participate from outside the precincts will be asked to leave the meeting. In this regard, I ask any members partaking via MS Teams to confirm, prior to making their contribution to the meeting, that they are on the grounds of the Leinster House campus. Members are reminded of the long-standing parliamentary practice to the effect that they should not criticise or make charges against any person or entity by name or in such a way as to make him, her or it identifiable or otherwise engage in speech that might be regarded as damaging to the good name of the person or entity. If their statements are potentially defamatory in relation to an individual person or entity, they will be directed to discontinue their remarks and it is imperative that they comply with any such direction.

The first item on our agenda is the election of the Leas-Chathaoirleach of the committee. As agreed at the first meeting of this committee, several nominations for the position of Leas-Chathaoirleach were received. These are the nominees in the order in which they were received: Deputy Jennifer Whitmore, Senator Lorraine Clifford-Lee and Deputy Ciarán Ahern. I now invite any other nominations for the position of Leas-Chathaoirleach.

As there is more than one nomination, we will consider them in the order in which they were received. Is the question, "That Deputy Jennifer Whitmore be elected as Leas-Chathaoirleach of the Joint Committee on Climate, Environment and Energy.", agreed? Not agreed.