Lisa Chambers (Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I am fortunate to be part of such a friendly and accommodating committee. I thank the members and Chairman.

I listened to the Minister's contribution from my office. We are very proud to see the role Ireland has played in terms of our financial support and advocating for Ukraine's membership of the European Union. In that context, could the Minister hazard an attempt to give some sort of timeline of a best-case scenario as to when he thinks it might achieve full membership?

My second comment is more of a point but maybe also a question as well. We had a very interesting engagement with the French ambassador, whom I think made a really good point. Actually, he was repeating the words of President Macron when he spoke of younger generations of Russians and the need to be very cautious not to humiliate Russia and leave a feeling among younger people in that country that may come back to haunt us in future years. It is a really delicate balance to strike because, obviously, we have to act. We have to be decisive and we must impose sanctions, as the Minister rightly said, because we have to make this a costly war so that Russia will stop what it is doing. Are there conversations happening about how we try to ensure that at some point in the future, there is some sort of working diplomatic relationship with Russia to make sure we do not prolong the war, but also that we do not see a repeat of such aggressions by future generations? I do not know what the answer to that is but we should be mindful that we do not nurture a feeling of hatred in younger Russians, the consequences of which we will still be dealing with in ten, 20, 30 or 40 years' time.