Bernard Durkan (Kildare North, Fine Gael)
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We have a quorum and we are now in public session. Apologies have been received from Deputy Gerald Nash and Senator Deirdre Clune.

Are the minutes of the meeting of 12 June agreed? Agreed.

Eric Byrne (Dublin South Central, Labour)
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I suggest that we pass on our best wishes for a speedy recovery to our colleague, Senator Norris, who has cancer. Senator Norris has issued a statement, outlining that he is ill with cancer. We applaud his bravery and we wish him a speedy recovery.

Dan Neville (Limerick, Fine Gael)
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I served in the Senate with him for two terms and I got to know him very well. We had some great times travelling abroad and God knows where. He is a great servant to the State and we wish him well.

Olivia Mitchell (Dublin South, Fine Gael)
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Indeed we do.

Dan Neville (Limerick, Fine Gael)
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We were to receive a report this week on our visit to the Middle East. Is that available?

Bernard Durkan (Kildare North, Fine Gael)
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We will come to that in a minute.

Jim Walsh (Fianna Fail)
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I join with those expressing good wishes to the Senator. Hopefully he will have a good recovery. I think I heard on the news today that he expects to be in the House in the next few days.

Bernard Durkan (Kildare North, Fine Gael)
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Thank you. We all join in extending our good wishes to Senator David Norris, who is a very active member of this committee. We are sorry to hear that he has had a little setback. We hope that it will be temporary and we will ask the secretariat to extend to him the best wishes of this committee.

I would also like to mention the loss of our previous clerk to the committee. We have a new clerk, Brian Hickey, and we thank Martin Groves for his tremendous work and support during the period in which he was clerk to the committee, and we wish him well in his new post. Similarly, we welcome Brian Hickey to this very onerous post. We promise not to make life too difficult for him.

I ask committee members and witnesses in the public gallery to switch off their mobile phones as they cause interference.