Seán Crowe (Dublin South West, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

I welcome the Tánaiste. He referred to Ukraine and the sanctions. The mood music coming out of Ukraine has been somewhat positive. A temporary truce has been established. The Russian President, Vladimir Putin, has spoken about formally taking Russian military intervention in eastern Europe off the table as separatist leaders agree to a ceasefire. The Russian Parliament is talking about revoking its ruling in March stating that Russia could deploy troops in Ukrainian territory. Does the Tánaiste believe there is now potential for a peace process in the region? Does he believe the sanctions have actually helped? There has been talk of strengthening the sanctions. Would this help conditions on the ground in regard to the mood music I am talking about?

Does the Tánaiste believe that the rushing of the EU–Ukraine trade agreement, which is due to be signed on Friday, will have a negative or positive impact on potential talks? The austerity of the agreement will probably put more vulnerable and less well-off people under pressure. Will this have an impact on the Ukrainian Government?

The Tánaiste mentioned the rise of ISIS in Iraq. There is concern about the additional financial and military resources it has after taking over many cities. In Britain, the focus has been on the number of people from that jurisdiction who have joined ISIS. There was concern over the number of Irish involved in the conflict. Does the Tánaiste have a sense of how many Irish are involved? There is talk of the radicalisation of many young men and the consequences on their return to Europe. Is this a concern of the Irish Government?

The main concern is the impact on neighbouring countries. In this regard, reference was made to the border crossings to Jordan and Lebanon. What is the position on this? What can the European Union and Irish Government do about this? I presume there will be considerable additional pressure, if that is possible, on these regions. What extra assistance can the Irish Government provide? Are there concerns about the potential for movement across the border into countries such as Jordan, thereby spreading the conflict?

Mention was made of the Israel-Palestine problem. There is now talk of a potential end to the hunger strike. Has the Tánaiste any information on that? He mentioned the kidnapping of the three young Israeli settlers. We hope they will be released. The collective punishment of the Palestinian people in the occupied territory continues. There has already been a search of 1,150 locations by the Israeli military. We have noted the killing of three Palestinians, one of whom was a 14 year old child, Mohammed Jihad Dodeen. He was shot with live bullets.