Michael McCarthy (Cork South West, Labour)
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I welcome the Minister for the Environment, Community and Local Government, Deputy Alan Kelly, and the Ministers of State, Deputies Ann Phelan and Paudie Coffey. I also welcome the Secretary General, Mr. John McCarthy; the assistant secretary, Ms Mary Hurley, and other officials from the Department, as well as Ms Sarah Boucenna from the European Parliament Office, Dublin who is in the Visitors Gallery.

At the request of the broadcasting and recording services, members are asked to ensure that for the duration of the meeting their mobile phones are switched off or left in flight mode as, even when left in silent mode, they cause interference with the broadcasting system.

The purpose of the meeting is to discuss improvements that may be desirable in the performance information included in the Estimate and a review of the position on outputs and expenditure in the 2015 Estimate for the Department. During the first part of the meeting we will focus on opportunities to improve performance information made available to the committee by the Department, while during the second we will consider the current position on Vote 34 generally and whether there are emerging pressures or issues, of which the committee should be aware. Is that agreed? Agreed.

On the performance information included, perhaps the Minister might clarify in the first instance if his Department accepts the New Zealand guidance provided for it by the secretariat as a basis for the creation of effective performance measures and if it has particular issues with it?