Business of Joint Committee
The committee approved the minutes and correspondence, noted forthcoming OPW and departmental attendance, and confirmed an informal 19 May meeting with a Saxon parliamentary delegation on infrastructure and regional development.
Apologies have been received from the Chair, Deputy Sean Fleming, and Senator Patricia Stephenson. I advise members of the constitutional requirement that they must be physically present within the confines of the Leinster House complex in order to participate in public meetings. Members are 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 a member's statements are potentially defamatory in relation to an identifiable person or entity they will be directed to discontinue their remarks. It is imperative that any such direction is complied with.
The minutes of the meeting of 6 May have been circulated. Are the minutes agreed to? Agreed.
Correspondence No. 0031/2026 is a letter regarding attendance at the committee meeting by officials from the OPW and the Department. This correspondence was received from Mr. David Moloney, Secretary General of the Department of Public Expenditure, Infrastructure, Public Service Reform and Digitalisation. It provides the names and roles of the four officials who will be attending the meeting on 13 May. Is it agreed to note and publish? Agreed. This concludes the correspondence for today.
The next item is a reminder to members. They will recall that in our meeting of 18 March 2026 it was agreed to meet informally with representatives of the parliamentary working group on infrastructure and regional development of the German State of Saxony. The delegation will be led by Ms Regina Kraushaar, Saxon State Minister for Infrastructure and Regional Development. The group is interested in the current issues in development and infrastructure both regions are facing. It would also like to hear about how Ireland is fostering regional development. The meeting was agreed for Tuesday, 19 May at 11 a.m. in meeting room 4. I encourage all members who are available to attend. The room is just off the main lobby in Leinster House and we have had meetings there before. Before we move to the next business, we will suspend briefly to allow the witnesses to come in.