Official Report 337KB pdf
Good morning and welcome to the Rural Affairs, Climate Change and Environment Committee’s 23rd meeting in 2015. I remind everyone present to switch off their mobile phones, as they might affect the broadcasting system. Members will be using tablets for their work.
We have apologies from Jim Hume. We are being joined by colleagues from the European and External Relations Committee: Jamie McGrigor is already here, and we are expecting Anne McTaggart. I am not sure, but perhaps one of our own members is still to come.
We welcome Phil Hogan. I thank him very much for coming to the committee and invite him to introduce his two sidekicks.
Dermot Ryan and Tom Tynan are members of my cabinet. They are both Irish, so do not hold that against them.
There is no harm in that at all.
It is good to see you here. We will try to cover matters between now and about 5 to 10, so we want to keep questions and answers short if at all possible.
Before we start that, item 1 is a decision on taking business in private. At our next meeting, on 24 June, we will deal with our work programme. We will plan a large amount of work on land reform and many other matters as we move into the autumn.
The second item is to welcome Phil Hogan and his cabinet members and to—[Interruption.] Excuse me a minute; I have been suffering from a cold. I need to do things in order—I must get members to agree that we move into private on 24 June to discuss our work programme. Are we agreed?
Members indicated agreement.
Very good. I thought that we might be, but I suppose that we have to confirm such things.