Simon Coveney (Cork South Central, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I do not have a date for when the report will be finalised but I expect it to be public. This incident has, in many ways, galvanised the EU in its response to the Lukashenko regime. A Ryanair plane, registered in Poland but flying from Athens to Vilnius, was effectively hijacked in the sky - that is what happened - and the pilot was told there was potentially a bomb on the plane and it had to turn around and fly to land in Minsk. It was escorted by a military aircraft and when the plane landed, the passengers were kept on it for quite a period while military police came on and took certain passengers off before arresting them forcefully. That is not acceptable and really focused the EU's attention on the intervention that is necessary in the context of what is happening in Belarus.

I suspect there will be much pressure for the report to be accurately concluded and be made public. I do not have exact dates around that and Ireland does not control it. I am sure the Ryanair airline will contribute fully to the investigation.

More broadly with respect to Belarus, I suspect the ongoing repression in the country will continue for some time. The EU is certainly resolute and united in the action and position we must take to change those facts on the ground and to allow the people of Belarus to choose their own political leadership.

See this speech in context