This provision is not an effort to muzzle the chief executive officer because – this was acknowledged by Senators – he can appear before other committees of the Oireachtas or talk publicly. The provision is to ensure that chief executive officers do not use the Committee of Public Accounts to undermine the Estimates process, which is between the relevant Minister and the Minister for Finance and his Department. Something that the chief executive officer would say at a critical time during the course of a meeting of the Committee of Public Accounts might have an impact on the Estimates process which, under the Constitution, is primarily between the responsible Minister and the Minster for Finance.