Gerard Craughwell (Independent) | Oireachtas source

I congratulate the Minister and his Department and, as Deputy Brady said, all of the Departments. It is amazing how quickly this country can react to a crisis. The Minister is to be commended on his leadership in this matter on the international stage. Credit where credit is due.

Our position on neutrality was stated in a White Paper by the Department of Foreign Affairs in 1995. Is that still our position regarding neutrality? We cannot sit back now and expect Russia just to concentrate its efforts in Ukraine. Given the sanctions we have implemented against the Russian Federation and the Russian oligarchs, there is a serious risk now to all of us, particularly in the area of cybersecurity and especially in respect of banking and financial transactions. There are a number of employees who are Irish citizens acting as monitors at the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe, OSCE. Is the Department in contact with those staff and are we sure of their safety? They were monitoring borders and the like and I am a little concerned for them.

I want to raise an issue that does not reflect my view but which needs to be deal with and today is the day to do so. Given that we have introduced visa-free provisions for Ukrainians coming to this country, thereby giving them full rights under European regulations, including a right to work and obtain access to social welfare, health services etc., the question is being asked in the public domain, and the Minister will have an opportunity to answer it today, as to whether we have set up a two-tier refugee system under which the same facilities are not available to people coming from Syria, Afghanistan and other war-torn parts of the world. Will he comment on that?