Charles Flanagan (Laois-Offaly, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I invite the Minister to respond to the questions from Deputies Brady, Stanton and Berry and to my question in regard to whether the foreign affairs section of the Department is as engaged with the situation in Ukraine as the defence section. I am sure everyone will agree that we are seeing a devastating humanitarian crisis unfold in Ukraine and surrounding countries. The impact is not only serious, it is widespread. Some of the most vulnerable people in the world appear to be hardest hit. I acknowledge what has been said by the Minister in terms of the pride that he takes in our reputation as a leader in humanitarian action. An important part of the work of this committee is dealing with the various groups engaged on the front line. We meet them regularly and we hear their concerns. We are as proud as the Minister is of the work they do.

On the matter of Ukraine, is the Minister of State in a position to advise us regarding the monitoring of international humanitarian law. In recent days, we have seen the most outrageous unprovoked attacks. We see the work that is being undertaken by humanitarian groups on the ground. We acknowledge the danger faced by humanitarian defenders in Ukraine and the surrounding areas. In the matter of the scale of displacement, it seems this will surpass, or has already surpassed, anything that Europe has seen in decades. In regard to the fundamental principle that all parties to the conflict adhere to their international humanitarian obligations, it seems there have already been a number of breaches. Is the Minister of State in a position to comment on that? I refer in particular to the work the Red Cross is undertaking and attacks that appear to me to be directed towards civilian objects. I would not call them targets because they are not treated as such. In terms of the Minister of State's area of responsibility, does the Department have any evidence of clear breaches of international humanitarian obligations?

To return to the point raised by Deputy Stanton, I am reluctant to raise the issue of the American Irish Historical Society in the context of such a humanitarian disaster as is before us and so I will not repeat anything I said to the Minister, Deputy Coveney. I will, however, make the point that this committee, through Deputy Stanton in particular, is concerned about the building in New York. We have raised some issues by way of correspondence. The Minister has informed us that the Minister of State, Deputy Brophy, has been briefed. I will not ask the Minister of State to comment on that now because of the need for the committee to concentrate almost exclusively on the humanitarian crisis in Ukraine and the humanitarian issues raised by Deputy Brady. As far as the building is concerned, the Minister of State might keep us informed of developments. He might acknowledge our concern. It is a matter we will come back to but perhaps not in the current heightened circumstances of humanitarian issues.

My final point is in regard to Ukraine. Earlier, we raised with the Minister the humanitarian issues in adjoining areas, with particular reference to Moldova. We trust that from a humanitarian perspective, the Department would keep in mind the people of Moldova at this difficult time. They are in dire need of assistance from the European Union and the international community. I do not believe there are any bilateral partnerships between Ireland and Moldova. I assume the Minister of State would engage on the matter with his EU colleagues. He might comment on whether there is any bilateral engagement or arrangement. The scenes from Poland, although distressing, appear to be the subject of some type of order and process. My concern for Moldova is that there is no such order or process, nor can there be because there is no capacity for that small neutral country to absorb the refugees.

It is just not possible. Last night I saw the President of Moldova on television make a harrowing plea to the international community and remembering that because of the presence of Russian troops on the ground in Transnistria and across other parts of Moldova, the situation there requires attention.

I thank you all for your work. We would hope that, in the course of our work later on in the year, we would visit a project undertaken by Irish Aid. We look forward to your assistance and co-operation in that pursuit. To date, the visit is merely planned and not put together but it is certainly something that we would like to do before the end of the year.