Cormac Devlin (Dún Laoghaire, Fianna Fail)
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On behalf of the committee, I welcome the Minister for Health, Deputy Carroll MacNeill. She is accompanied by the assistant secretaries at the Department of Health, Mr. Muiris O'Connor and Ms Tracey Conroy, and the Chief Medical Officer, CMO, Professor Mary Horgan. I thank them all for their attendance.

The subject of health on the island of Ireland has been the primary focus of this committee since its formation last May. Health is a vital area of North-South co-operation that directly impacts on the daily lives of citizens across the island. We are delighted to welcome the Minister today. We welcomed her counterpart, the Minister of Health for Northern Ireland, Mr. Mike Nesbitt MLA, to the committee last December. These engagements build on the existing North-South health collaboration driven by the bilateral agreements, the North-South Ministerial Council, the shared island initiative, the cross-border EU funding initiative PEACEPLUS and the special EU programmes body, SEUPB. The Minister's continued support remains essential. As the PEACEPLUS programme evolves, her leadership will be paramount in ensuring the system effectively knits together and optimises all healthcare options and outcomes.

The format of the meeting is that I will call on the Minister to make an opening statement followed by questions from members. Each member will have between five and seven minutes inclusive of questions and answers. I remind members of the constitutional requirement that in order to participate in public meetings, they must be physically present within the confines of the Leinster House complex. Members attending the meeting remotely must do so from within the precincts of Leinster House. This is due to the constitutional requirement that members participating in public meetings be physically present within the confines of the place where the Parliament chooses to sit.

In this regard, I ask any members participating via MS Teams to confirm that they are on the grounds of the Leinster House complex before making their contribution to the meeting. Members and witnesses are reminded of the long-standing parliamentary practice to the effect 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. If their statements are potentially defamatory in relation to an identifiable person or entity, they will be directed to discontinue their remarks and it is imperative that they comply with any such direction. As the Minister will be aware, the committee will publish her opening statement on its website following the meeting. MPs participating in this session from outside the jurisdiction of the State are advised that they too should be mindful of domestic law and how it may apply to their participation.

I now invite the Minister to make her opening statement.