David Stanton (Cork East, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I welcome the ambassador and the delegation and thank them for coming in today. Deputy Brady has covered a lot of the questions I was going to ask so I will not repeat them.

I am struck by one of the figures which the ambassador mentioned in her presentation, where she said that 16,207 children have been deported from Ukraine and that they are now in Russia. The ambassador might let us know the stories around those deportations, where those children are, what has happened to them, why they are being deported and what their future is. It seems a huge figure to me. What part of Ukraine have they been deported from? To have that number of children being deported must be horrific not just for them but for their parents and families as well, if their parents and families are still alive. It is something that jumped out from the presentation. I have come across this on a few occasions previously. I thought we had left this kind of barbarity in the Middle Ages. Kidnapping children, taking them away and deporting them seems a particularly heinous thing to do, although everything else is awful and terrible as well.

The ambassador mentioned the laying of mines and explosive devices. She said that 500,000 explosive objects have been identified and neutralised to date. My guess is there are a lot more munitions like that buried in fields and in land across Ukraine. We can imagine the impact that is having on civilians as they try the best they can to get on with their day-to-day business. We know that the laying of mines was condemned internationally yet this seems particularly horrific, apart from everything else.

I have reflected on this for quite some time. I believe the ambassador is right to suggest that Russia is now a terrorist state.

There are no two ways about it. It is a terrorist state because of what it is doing. I agree with the ambassador on that. We need to support her country's ambition to join the European Union. It is hugely important. I thank the people of Ukraine for what they have been doing in supplying grain to parts of the world that are starving and under pressure from hunger and famine. Despite what is happening, the Ukrainian people are still doing that, which is fantastic.

We all know and have become friends with Ukrainian people who have moved to Ireland. Some of us have taken them into our own homes. Generally speaking, what feedback is Ms Gerasko getting from Ukrainian citizens who have moved to Ireland? What are they saying? Do they need assistance, for instance, with getting employment and work? I am conscious some of them want to work and many are working, but can we do more in that regard? Many Ukrainians have exchanged their driving licences, got car insurance and are driving and so on, but is there more we can do? We are obviously at full employment and it might help Ukrainians here if they could work and use their skills. Are there areas where we as a State can do more to integrate them into our economy and our society?