Simon Coveney (Cork South Central, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I thank the committee for the opportunity to appear before it. I am glad to have it. I hope that we will have another meeting after the summer when this conflict will be in a new phase. Hopefully, it will be a better phase, but there is not a great deal of optimism that anything is going to change positively any time soon.

I thank the committee for convening this session on the current situation in Ukraine and the European Union's response. Russia's unprovoked, brutal and unjustifiable aggression against Ukraine began 132 days ago - 132 days of suffering and pain inflicted on the Ukrainian people. We are witnessing their extraordinary courage and resilience and the inspiring leadership of President Zelenskyy and his Government.

I was the first foreign minister to visit Kyiv since 24 February when the war began. During my visit, I met the Ukrainian Minister of Foreign Affairs, Mr. Dmytro Kuleba, the Minister of Defence and the deputy defence minister, and I visited Bucha. What I witnessed there was profoundly shocking. I promised Mr. Kuleba at that point that I would report to the UN Security Council on my visit, which I did in April. At that meeting, I called on Russia to stop this senseless war and brutality.

As a member of the UN Security Council, Ireland has sought to hold Russia accountable, urging it to end its war in Ukraine immediately, pushing for the protection of civilians and calling out Russia's cynical attempts to use the Council and other UN bodies to spread disinformation. Ireland has joined more than 40 countries in referring the situation in Ukraine to the International Criminal Court, ICC. Recognising the increased workload for the court, I approved €3 million in additional funding to assist in the investigation of the situation in Ukraine along with other situations before the court.

The EU has demonstrated its ability to respond quickly in support of Ukraine and has displayed unity in its reaction. Since February, the EU has mobilised over €4 billion in support to Ukraine. This is in the form of macro-financial assistance, budget support, emergency assistance, crisis response and humanitarian aid. In addition, the EU has provided €2 billion of support to the Ukrainian armed forces under the European Peace Facility. Ireland has contributed €44 million towards non-lethal elements of that fund. Bilaterally, Ireland has provided €20 million in humanitarian assistance to Ukraine and neighbouring countries, including Moldova, predominantly through UN agencies. I assure the committee that we will be doing more, including using our broader development budget to address some of the war's impacts on other parts of the world. In March, the EU activated the temporary protection directive to offer quick and effective assistance to people fleeing the war. Since then, Ireland has welcomed almost 40,000 Ukrainians to our shores.

Last month, the European Council decided to grant candidate status to Ukraine, which is an important message that Europe stands with Ukraine. Ireland has been a very strong supporter of that position. I am pleased to say that Ireland has been one of the strongest supporters of Ukraine's application as well as Moldova's. We also want to see Georgia and the western Balkans on the road to full membership. Ireland is probably one of the most vocal European countries in support of enlargement and an acceleration of that process. Ukraine has been making good progress on reforms and we look forward to seeing this continue as part of Ukraine's path towards full EU membership at some point in the future. Last month's ratification of the Istanbul Convention was a clear indication of Ukraine's commitment to aligning with EU standards. To take that initiative as a priority in the midst of war says a great deal about what the Ukrainian Parliament and Government are trying to do.

Since 23 February, and with active Irish support, the EU has adopted the most significant set of sanctions in its history. In total, 1,158 individuals and 98 entities in Russia and Belarus are now sanctioned. Sectoral sanctions are targeting the financial, energy, technology, defence and transport sectors as well as Russian media involved in spreading disinformation. The sale of EU luxury goods to Russia is prohibited, as is the import from Russia and Belarus of certain products. As I have repeatedly stated, Ireland supports the toughest possible sanctions and we are ready to support a ban on Russian gas, building on decisions already taken in respect of oil and coal.

I do not know how long the war will continue, but we know that a global financial effort will be required to rebuild Ukraine after the war. The EU will not be found wanting and will give significant leadership, and Ireland will continue to provide steadfast support to Ukraine and its people. As some committee members may know, there was a conference on the reconstruction of Ukraine in Switzerland in recent days. We had representation there, I believe through the Minister of State at the Department of Finance, Deputy Fleming. A number of other countries have offered to hold pledging conferences one after another, so there will be a strong appetite within the EU to be central to the rebuilding efforts. However, this conflict needs to end before that can be done for the majority of Ukraine. As such, ending the conflict needs to be a major focus. There is not much optimism that there is any appetite for a ceasefire or to consider the conditions that would deliver one.

For now, it is about trusting in the Ukrainian leadership, supporting the Ukrainian military where appropriate, supporting the Ukrainian people through humanitarian support, both within Ukraine and outside it, and supporting those who have had to flee the conflict, particularly those who have come to Ireland. It is also about trying to address and respond to the extraordinary fallout from this conflict for other parts of the world in terms of cost of living increases. While these are having a significant impact on a country like Ireland, they potentially have life and death consequences in other parts of the world in terms of the availability of food and energy.

This is a conflict that is extraordinarily tragic for Ukrainians from a human suffering point of view, but it is also having significant knock-on consequences, not only on geopolitics, which is now changing by the month, but also in terms of development, poverty, food security, energy security and a range of other pressure points that will need our focus and that of the wider EU in the months ahead. This situation is complex and not easy to solve, but I am happy to take members' questions on what we are doing and how we are approaching it.