John Lahart (Dublin South West, Fianna Fail)
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Apologies have been received from the following colleagues: Deputy Seán Ó Fearghaíl, Senator Alice-Mary Higgins and Deputy Shay Brennan. I know there are other committees running concurrently and there will be a little bedding in as people get used to their committees.

Before we proceed, I have a few housekeeping matters to go through as follows. In accordance with Standing Orders, I wish to make the following declaration. I do solemnly declare that I will duly and faithfully and to the best of my knowledge and ability execute the office of Cathaoirleach of the Committee on Foreign Affairs and Trade without fear or favour, apply the rules as laid down by the Houses in an impartial and fair manner, maintain order and uphold the rights and privileges of members in accordance with the Constitution and Standing Orders.

I remind members of the constitutional requirement that in order to participate in public meetings, members must be physically present within the confines of the Leinster House complex. Members of the committee attending remotely must do so from within the precincts of Leinster House. This is due to the constitutional requirement that in order to participate in public meetings, Members must be physically present within the confines of the place where Parliament has chosen to sit. In this regard, I ask any Member partaking via MS Teams that, prior to making their contribution to the meeting, they confirm that they are on the grounds of the Leinster House campus.

Members are also reminded of the long-standing parliamentary practice 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. Therefore, if Members' statements are potentially defamatory in respect of an identifiable person or entity, I will direct them to discontinue their remarks, and it is imperative that they comply with any such direction.

Good afternoon, members. I am very pleased and honoured, particularly for my constituents in Dublin South-West, to have been appointed as Cathaoirleach of the Joint Committee on Foreign Affairs and Trade. I welcome all members of the Houses of the Oireachtas Joint Committee on Foreign Affairs and Trade, being Deputies Cathy Bennett, Brian Brennan, Shay Brennan, Noel McCarthy, Ken O'Flynn, Duncan Smith, Seán Ó Fearghaíl and Donnchadh Ó Laoghaire, and Senators Garret Ahearn, Alice-Mary Higgins, Fiona O'Loughlin, Joe O'Reilly and Patricia Stephenson. I look forward to working with you all in a genuine spirit of partnership and co-operation and in addressing the many issues and challenges facing the Department under the remit of this committee. I am conscious of the proud record of Irish foreign policy dating back as far as Frank Aiken's work on non-proliferation. As we begin our work together, I wish to acknowledge the work of the former Joint Committee of Foreign Affairs and Defence during the previous Oireachtas term.

The members of that committee carried out valuable work and focused on several important issues that will remain relevant to us on this new committee. I thank them and the officials for that work. I hope we will be able to build on their work.

Given the current geopolitical climate, it is vital that this committee approach its work seriously. Ireland's history informs our approach to and perspective on international events. That history is organic and evolving. While we may have differing perspectives at time, it is my sincere hope that we will always work together in a spirit of mutual respect and collegiality against the backdrop of uncertainty, volatility, anxiety, aggression and instability we see in the world right now, with a view to being an effective, competent, relevant and dynamic committee. I assure members my approach as Cathaoirleach will always be one of consensus and fairness. I believe we as members of the committee can do our job best in an environment where all members can contribute and know their efforts have made a difference. I will always endeavour for this to be the case and will be available to assist members in any way I can.

"Few will have the greatness to bend history itself, but each of us can work to change a small portion of events". These words, borrowed from another time, have helped to guide me in my political career. As we consider the awful carnage being visited on innocents throughout our world, we implore leaders to be reminded of the words of Robert F. Kennedy Snr. that:

we can perhaps remember, if only for a time, that those who live with us are our brothers, that they share with us the same short moment of life; that they seek, as do we, nothing but the chance to live out their lives in purpose and in happiness, winning what satisfaction and fulfilment they can.

I look forward to working with all members in the days, weeks and months ahead. Do any members wish to make a comment?

Donnchadh Ó Laoghaire (Cork South-Central, Sinn Fein)
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I congratulate the Chair on the honour he has received and wish him well in his role. It is an important role. I also wish the secretariat well. It also has an important role. We see in every committee that an awful lot of the heavy lifting is done behind the scenes. I look forward to working with the secretariat. It is a febrile and volatile moment in the world. It is important while we may be a small country, we do what we can and choose to find the greatest way to exercise our voice and find the greatest level of influence we can and be a voice for human rights. There is, as the Cathaoirleach pointed out, a great deal of suffering and loss of life of civilian at this moment in time. We have a proud foreign affairs history. It is important we preserve that. I hope this committee will play an important role in that, as well as highlighting and doing work on how we guide our economy and society through this volatile moment in terms of trade and the global economy.

John Lahart (Dublin South West, Fianna Fail)
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I thank the Deputy, I appreciate his comments.

Duncan Smith (Dublin Fingal East, Labour)
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I congratulate Deputy Lahart on his position as Chair of the committee. I look forward to working with him and all members of the committee of all parties and none in both Houses. I am genuinely excited to be part of this committee given the turbulence taking place in the world, Ireland's proud tradition and the challenges that face the country in terms of our foreign policy. This committee has a role to play in that. I look forward to working with everyone on this committee to try to further that over the next couple of years.

John Lahart (Dublin South West, Fianna Fail)
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I thank Deputy Smith for his warm welcome.

Brian Brennan (Wicklow-Wexford, Fine Gael)
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I concur with the previous statements. I wish the Chair and secretariat the best of luck. It is a great appointment as chairperson. I have not been in politics for a long time but I have followed Deputy Lahart's career. His reputation goes beyond him. Going forward, I hope we all use our life experiences. It is important to use our human experience when there is so much going in the world. It is just so sad. We need to reflect on the people at the end of this suffering and try to do everything we can. There is a big financial price but it is the human aspect we have to focus on, especially in current times.

John Lahart (Dublin South West, Fianna Fail)
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I thank the Deputy for his kind words. I appreciate that.

Garret Ahearn (Fine Gael)
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I congratulate the Chair on his position. I wish the clerk well in her role and all staff who will be working on this committee.

All committees are important, obviously, but I think the foreign affairs committee and foreign policy in general will be one of the biggest issues over the next four or five years. I think as a committee that we can play a leading role in that. Committees in general have been constructive but this committee really needs to work from a constructive perspective, which I think it will. We all have a similar view on some of the things and atrocities that are happening across the world. I look forward to working with each member of this committee and think that we can bring many life experiences to this, as Deputy Brennan said. I look forward to working with everyone.

Fiona O'Loughlin (Fianna Fail)
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As a party colleague, I want to say how proud I am that Deputy Lahart has been chosen to take the position of Cathaoirleach. I have always found him to be collegiate and considerate in his approach to everything. That consideration will be important in the role that he now has. I look forward to working with other members of the committee, the clerk and the secretariat. The Chair has a fine all-female crew beside him. I have no doubt they will serve all of us well. Ireland's place and voice in the world are important. We have never seen so much conflict, not just on the edges of Europe but right across the world. We have a responsibility on our shoulders to take considered views and make considered statements, particularly regarding trade. We are not sure what we are facing because the narrative seems to change day by day, but there is no doubt that many businesses and companies, both those involved in foreign direct investment in Ireland and indeed others that depend on those businesses. We need to have a big focus on that area. I know the Cathaoirleach will play a large part in that.

Noel McCarthy (Cork East, Fine Gael)
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Like previous speakers, I congratulate the Cathaoirleach on his role and look forward to working with him, with the clerk and other staff, and with all my colleagues on the committee. I think this committee has a big role to play. I look forward to working with everyone. I thank the Cathaoirleach for letting me in. I apologise for being a bit late.

John Lahart (Dublin South West, Fianna Fail)
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I call Senator Stephenson.

Patricia Stephenson (Social Democrats)
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Deputy O'Flynn has his hand up first.

Ken O'Flynn (Cork North-Central, Independent Ireland Party)
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No problem. Ladies first.

John Lahart (Dublin South West, Fianna Fail)
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A spirit of collegiality. I thank the Deputy.

Patricia Stephenson (Social Democrats)
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I will echo everyone else's remarks. I am delighted to be on the committee and to be working with everyone. I look forward to working with the team. Congratulations to Deputy Lahart on getting the role of Cathaoirleach. It is a time of great global crisis. There are many conflicts across the world, including many forgotten crises that do not get enough attention, so I hope we can give some consideration to those, as well as the urgent crisis with aid cuts and the impact that will have on so much of the work that Ireland has been doing overseas. That is something I will be interested in discussing. We will get onto agenda points later. I am excited to be on the committee.

Ken O'Flynn (Cork North-Central, Independent Ireland Party)
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I see the Cathaoirleach has left the best to last, if I do say so myself. I congratulate Deputy Lahart on his selection as Cathaoirleach. I have watched him for a number of years and seen his tremendous contribution and fairness in Leinster House. I have no doubt that will be echoed in this committee throughout his tenure. I congratulate the entire team, including the clerk and secretariat, and wish them all well. The one commitment I want to give is that I will work in a non-partisan way with this committee. This is where we really do our business together and work incredibly well together as a group and as parliamentarians. It is an exciting time and an interesting committee to be in for me, as a first-time TD. There are great challenges ahead. We have always had a world full of conflict. Now more than ever, it seems to be appearing on our news every day of the week. It has, without a doubt, been topical in the Chamber over the last months and years. There is a tremendous role for us to play, particularly in trade. I look forward to working with each one of the committee in an impartial way.

John Lahart (Dublin South West, Fianna Fail)
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I thank Deputy O'Flynn and everybody present. Those of you I know bring a wealth of experience and knowledge to the committee. I look forward to harnessing that. To those who are new, I look forward to getting to know you. The first item we deal with is the nominations for Leas-Chathaoirleach. As you are aware, a committee may choose to elect a Leas-Chathaoirleach who can perform the duties and exercise the authority of the Cathaoirleach in his or her absence. I propose requesting nominations for the position of Leas-Chathaoirleach. Members might wish to consult one another and send nominations to the clerk by close of business on Monday, 19 May. Ideally, the election of the Leas-Chathaoirleach will take place at the next meeting of the committee on 20 May 2025. Is that agreed? Agreed.

We will now go into private session to deal with housekeeping matters. For members of the public who might be watching, this allows us to plan for the work and the schedule of the committee in the weeks and months ahead.