Seán Ó Fearghaíl (Kildare South, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

While I acknowledge the Minister of State's response, I wish to put a couple of questions to him. Does he accept the European Union - and he as a Minister - must be somewhat embarrassed that, for example, the Obama Administration has moved already to apply sanctions to more than 20 Ukrainian officials, while here in Europe we continue to fail to move? Second, what has been done by either the Tánaiste and Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade or the European Union to secure the release of the former prime minister, Ms Tymonshenko? Is it the belief of the Government that her release would be helpful in finding a resolution to the situation? Has the Tánaiste discussed this situation with his counterpart in Russia, Sergey Lavrov? Finally, has this crisis been discussed in a Cabinet meeting? Has there been a united Cabinet decision on how this crisis should be addressed, recognising the status Ireland has in being outside NATO and having a recognised history in peacekeeping, as well as much to offer, based on our recent history, in respect of contributing to the building of peace in situations in which conflict exists?

See this speech in context