Pat Breen (Clare, Fine Gael)

The fact is an Irish passport was allegedly used in a given situation, and this has more or less been confirmed by the authorities. I ask the Minister to talk to his Russian counterpart because Ireland does not want to be seen as a soft tough on the international scene. Here we have Israel and Russia, two so-called superpowers allegedly using Irish passports for fraudulent purposes. That is a very serious situation, as the Minister has acknowledged. The fact that these passports were used puts the safety of Irish citizens at risk. How come it was not a case of passports from any of the Eastern Bloc countries, but rather Ireland? I ask the Minister to call in and talk to the Russian ambassador about the situation. I understand he has to find out the facts, but he must emphasise to the Russian ambassador how serious is the situation.

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