Louise O'Reilly (Dublin Fingal, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

I send my solidarity to the Ukrainian people and their families in Ireland and commend those who are doing so much on the ground in our communities to organise relief, collect money and show support. Two people in my town, Tanya, who runs Tanya's Kitchen, and her mam, both of them Ukrainian, will run a fundraiser tomorrow, while Ollie, who runs The Snug, is collecting money as well. So much work is being done and we have much to be proud of. I hope yesterday's Dáil statements demonstrated our collective support for Ukraine and our deep opposition to Russia's morally bankrupt and illegal war.

In light of Ireland's military neutrality, our seat on the UN Security Council and our position as an EU member state not aligned with NATO, we have a unique and important role in supporting Ukraine, making the case for peace and holding Russia to account for its war crimes. As for sanctions and, specifically, the targeting of Russian oligarchs and their financial entities located in Ireland, just three of the 34 of these special purpose entities will be impacted by the current round of sanctions. I am concerned there appears to be no intention to pursue the remaining 31 entities. Will the Taoiseach clarify the position?

Over the past two years, my party colleague Deputy Mairéad Farrell has raised a special purpose vehicle provision in section 110 in Ireland's tax code that is used by these Russian entities and others to avoid regulation and tax. Does the Taoiseach accept it is finally time to reform how the International Financial Services Centre, IFSC, and our tax code are used, how our financial regulation performs and how our rules on transparency of company ownership work?

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