I welcome the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage, Deputy Darragh O'Brien, and his officials. I will read a note on housekeeping matters to refresh people's memories because the committee did not sit last week. We will be starting with section 99 and amendment No. 674, which is part of a grouping. Our meeting schedule for this week has been agreed. As part of that agreement, we have cancelled our meeting tomorrow because there are ministerial parliamentary questions in the Chamber. We will therefore not have a meeting tomorrow morning.
I have received a notification that a former member of the committee, Deputy Emer Higgins, has been appointed a Minister of State. She is no longer a member of the committee. As a result, the membership of the committee comprises eight TDs and the Minister, who is an ex officio member. For the taking of votes, the Minister of State, Deputy Higgins, will not be present but we will still have full attendance without her presence.
We have made considerable progress on this Bill in recent weeks. We have met a lot and are making good progress. The delay in respect of voting is draining a lot of our time and resources. I urge members to attend for voting, wherever possible, and also to consider when calling a vote that it adds significantly to the amount of time this business is taking. I would rather spend the time discussing the amendments and the Bill than have a ten-minute wait for each vote. I do not think it is helpful to the legislative process for us to do that. I ask members to consider that point.