Cathal Berry (Kildare South, Independent) | Oireachtas source

I wish the Tánaiste good afternoon. My questions will be focused on the situation in Ukraine and more specifically how it relates to the situation in Ireland. I think every Deputy will recall the dying days of the Celtic tiger, when our financial regulators were utterly clueless about the risks emerging on the horizon and provided absolutely no early warning whatsoever. Even as the storm was breaking our financial regulators were oblivious to the risk. They were telling us there was nothing to see here and that everything was fine. However, in the end, there was something to see. Every Deputy knows we have been living with the legacy of that disaster every day since then.

There is also something to see in Ukraine at the moment. The consensus assessment is there is an 80% likelihood of hostilities breaking out before the end of the month, once the Chinese Olympics finish on 20 February. While we wish the diplomats well and are hoping for a diplomatic outcome, we should always bear in mind that the Japanese used bogus negotiations right up to the day of the Pearl Harbor attack in the 1940s. It was the same story with the Germans before their invasion of Poland. There is, therefore, a risk that these negotiations are not being conducted in good faith and we should be prepared accordingly. I fully accept, as I think all Deputies do, that we have very little control of geopolitical events. When the tectonic plates start moving, we have very little control. However, we have much more control over how we respond and how we prepare.

I would be grateful if the Tánaiste would update the House on the continuous planning that has been taking place at Government level. I ask that he specifically focus on whether any financial provision has been made to assist our fellow EU countries that border Ukraine in the event of a major humanitarian crisis breaking out. Do we have any spare capacity in our refugee system to accept new refugees? From a cybersecurity point of view, have we hardened or ruggedised our critical national infrastructure such as the national grid, the health service and the public transport system? If they go down, the poorest people will suffer the most. How does the Tánaiste assess the safety of our embassy staff in Kyiv? Do we have any measures in place to safeguard our energy security if things go wrong and conflict breaks out? Energy security is going to be a major issue because of the control the Russians have over our gas.

To summarise, having this conversation is not alarmist in any shape or form. These are normal, prudent, sensible and responsible discussions. They are happening all over Europe and need to happen here as well. I would be grateful if the Tánaiste would update the House accordingly.

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