Gerry Horkan (Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I thank the ambassador. I am not a member of this committee; it may be somewhat relevant, now that we are talking about Ryanair, that I am a member of the Joint Committee on Transport and Communications. I was out the morning of the first attacks and met Ms Gerasko and the Polish ambassador at the gates. As the convenor of the Ireland-Romania interparliamentary friendship group, I had met the Romanian ambassador the night before. We were talking about Ukraine, of course, but I do not think any of us thought that within five or six hours of leaving each other on the Wednesday evening, attacks would start on Kyiv.

Every parliamentarian and person in Ireland felt shock and disbelief that first day. We are equally shocked but more believing of the awful trauma people are going through. I pay credit to the ambassador and her team for all they have had to do and deal with in the last two weeks. I think I met her almost every day last week. I was at the Russian Embassy on the Sunday and then I met her on Monday, Tuesday and so on. All of us know an awful lot more about Ukraine now than we knew a month or two ago. We all stand with Ukraine as a nation and as a parliament. Ukrainians are defending not just themselves but the free world and democracy against totalitarian regimes. I have been in Estonia where there is a fear. I am convenor of the recently formed Ireland-Moldova interparliamentary friendship group. I never thought when I was asked to be convenor of either of these groups that they would be so topical and relevant in this awful, traumatic way.

I do not want to repeat the points that have been made. It is really important that the message goes back from all of us as individuals, parties, members of the Government or Opposition that there is no party politics in this at all. We are all here doing everything and anything we can. Right around Ireland, as a country whose people had to flee and go abroad for all kinds of reasons in the past, we understand that people are going because of push factors, not pull factors. Many who are coming here would obviously much prefer to be in Ukraine and hope to be able to go back there. Everything we can do, we should do, and more. The ambassador should reach out to us every time she can.

No more than certain other people asked the pharmaceutical companies to step up, my understanding is that Ryanair was the single largest operator in Ukraine prior to the conflict. It flew more flights per day in Ukraine than Ukraine International Airlines and has a much bigger fleet. It was flying far more services in and out of Ukraine and ran a successful business there. Ryanair is a successful commercial airline. On this one, it needs to know when to step up and deliver. It would be a message to Michael O'Leary and Ryanair, with over 400 aircraft operating, that it could provide services out of Poland, Romania and Moldova to various European countries and other safe havens free of charge. I do not think it would be beyond Ryanair's capability to do that. Many of us who use and appreciate Ryanair would appreciate if in this traumatic, war situation, it would say to the Governments of Ukraine, Poland, Romania, Moldova and various other countries close by that it would fly services at minimal or preferably zero cost to bring people out of these countries.

As a country with a population of about 5 million, for us to even fathom that almost 3 million Ukrainians have had to flee with nothing except the clothes on their backs, maybe a small suitcase and a couple of toys for their children, it is just beyond comprehension that this can happen on EU borders in the 21st century. The message should go back from this committee about Ryanair and other airlines, for that matter, but particularly Ryanair, which did a lot of business in Ukraine and hopefully will again in the future when the country rebuilds itself as a free, democratic and independent State.

Most of my questions were answered and the ambassador deserves a little break. We are all on her side. We are all with her. She must reach out at any opportunity for any and all of us to help her. In the last two or three weeks people have been asking me how they can help; those in business, publicans, restaurateurs are asking if people want work, if they can feed them. Everybody is wanting to help. People who are trading with Russia do not care about their trade. They are abandoning trade with Russia. They have said it is one of their biggest markets but they do not want or need it; they will live without it. Ireland is 100% with Ukraine and on its side. The sooner the ceasefire comes and this devastating war caused by Putin more than by the Russian people is stopped, the better. I thank the ambassador for everything she is doing.