Apologies have been received from Deputy Michael McNamara and Senator Deirdre Clune who are on parliamentary business at the Council of Europe plenary week in Strasbourg. In case anyone thinks my colleagues have abandoned me, they are attending a Fine Gael parliamentary party meeting and shall join us shortly. I remind members and those in the public Gallery to ensure that their mobile phones are switched off completely for the duration of the meeting as they will cause interference, even on silent mode, with the recording equipment in committee rooms. I ask people to respect the instruction and ensure that they are switched off completely.
The first item on our agenda are the minutes of the previous meeting held on 28 September which have been circulated to all members. Are there any matters arising from them? If not, are they agreed? Agreed.