H.E. Mr. George Zurabashvili:

The population of the country has reduced slightly. According to the most recent census, there are 3.8 million Georgians living in Georgia. Emigration is a global process that occurs everywhere. Georgians have been travelling since the borders opened after the collapse of the USSR. That is when Georgian emigration started. There was some previously when the Bolsheviks captured and occupied Georgia. When the Iron Curtain was in place, we were not allowed to travel abroad. The most recent wave of Georgian emigration started 30 years ago. People are travelling for a better life and better salaries. The economy leads their decision. At the same time, Georgians are family-based people. We always anticipate that one day we will return. I think the Irish will not be surprised to hear this given that 70 million people of Irish extraction live abroad and 5.5 million people live in the country.

We realise that sometimes undocumented immigration brings problems to the host countries. We implement many activities and have invented new mechanisms to prevent illegal or undocumented travel. We have had some success. European Union statistics show a huge decline in the number of people who have travelled undocumented. That is part of life but, at the same time, we are doing the best we can and we co-operate closely with Europol, Eurojust and Frontex to prevent and avoid illegal travel.

Deputy Berry asked a question on Georgia's application to join the EU in 2024. That is what we have declared. How long it will take to become a member, God knows. It is a long process. At the same time, we are not chasing the process. We are saying EU membership would be good for Georgia. Whenever it happens, it happens. It will be whenever the EU is ready to open its borders to new members and enlargement. Ireland supports the enlargement process but there are different ideas. We are not pushing anybody. We are doing our homework and when the time comes, we will be ready.

On cyberattacks, we suffer from such attacks. It was not only in 2008 because since that time there have been several attacks coming from Russia. We had close co-operation with the law enforcement bodies of our ally countries, such as the UK and the US. This helps us to identify the source of these attacks. We know what happened and when it happened. We are not the only country to have suffered cyberattacks from Russia. It is our common problem.