Colm Brophy (Dublin South West, Fine Gael)
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I remind members and witnesses that interference from mobile phones affects sound quality and I ask that they might be turned off or switched to flight mode.

I welcome Mr. Colm Desmond, assistant secretary for finance and evaluation at the Department of Health; and Mr. Stephen Mulvany, chief financial officer from the HSE. They are also joined Ms Louise Carrigan who is the assistant principal officer in the Department of Health. We are meeting these officials to receive a briefing on the budget management and control of health expenditure in the context of our committee's work in preparation for budget 2020. As a committee we have been consistently involved in raising issues relating to the supplementary health budgets and their impact on the overall budget over the past three years, in particular. I thank Mr. Desmond and Mr. Mulvany for making themselves available to the committee today.

Before we hear from our witnesses I will make the usual statement on privilege, which is that by virtue of section 17(2)(l) of the Defamation Act 2009, witnesses are protected by absolute privilege in respect of their evidence to this committee. However, if they are directed by the committee to cease giving evidence on a particular matter and they continue to so do, they are entitled thereafter only to a qualified privilege in respect of their evidence. They are directed that only evidence connected with the subject matter of these proceedings is to be given and are asked to respect the parliamentary practice to the effect that, where possible, they should not criticise nor make charges against any person or entity by name or in such a way as to make him or her identifiable.

Members are reminded of the long standing parliamentary practice to the effect that 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 call Mr. Desmond to make his opening statement.