Joan Freeman (Independent)
Link to this: Individually | In context | Oireachtas source

I welcome to the meeting the Minister for Health, Deputy Harris, and the Minister of State at the Department of Health with responsibility for mental health and older people, Deputy Jim Daly, and their officials. On behalf of the committee, I thank them for their attendance. The committee has agreed that as the Minister has to leave the meeting at 2.30 p.m., we will take his opening statement as read and that we will proceed directly to a question-and-answer session.

Members are reminded that under the salient rulings of the Chair, they should not comment on, criticise or make charges against a person outside the Houses or an official either by name or in such a way as to make him or her identifiable. I remind members and witnesses to turn off their mobile phones or switch them to flight mode as they interfere with the sound system. I advise that any submission or opening statement provided to the committee will be published on the committee website after the meeting.

We will proceed to questions. The normal duration for putting questions and receiving a response to them is seven minutes. I ask members to pose their questions and for the Minister to reply to them within a seven-minute period because the Minister will have to leave in a while. I call Deputy Carey.