Dara Murphy (Cork North Central, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I thank Deputy Smith for his question and his interest in this area. Of course, he is correct that this is a serious situation in Ukraine.

In July and September 2014, the EU agreed a package of restrictive measures against the Russian Federation on access to capital markets, trade in arms, dual use goods and access to sensitive technologies, particularly in the field of energy.

When the sanctions were introduced our initial assessment was that their impact on our bilateral trade with Russia would be modest given that the vast majority of goods exported from Ireland to Russia are not subject to the targeted EU restrictions. This has been borne out by recent trade figures which show that merchandise exports to Russia from Ireland for the first 11 months of 2014 amounted to €693 million. This represents an increase of 16% on the same period in 2013. As for imports from Russia, these amounted to €213 million for the first 11 months of 2014, representing an increase of some 60% compared to the same period in 2013.

The sanctions were imposed in response to Russia's actions in Ukraine and with the clear aim of encouraging a change in its behaviour towards its neighbour. They are clearly having an effect on Russia's economy and they remain a key element of the EU's approach to the crisis in Ukraine. The measures can be strengthened or eased in light of developments on the ground and progress made towards the objectives set by the EU when they were put in place. Whether they can be lifted in 2015 depends on the extent of this progress.

I remain of the view that the restrictive measures against Russia, coupled with open dialogue and continued political and diplomatic engagement with the various sides involved in the conflict, offer the best way of creating the conditions for a peaceful resolution of the crisis.

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