Leo Varadkar (Dublin West, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I thank Deputies for their questions. When we talk about the whole issue of Ukraine and the wider migration issue, we need to put it into context. We are seeing a war on the Continent of Europe the likes of which we have not seen since the 1940s. We are seeing refugee movements across Europe the likes of which we have not seen in our lifetimes, certainly not since the 1940s.

We have seen a trebling of international protection applicants from outside the European Union coming into Europe and also into Ireland. This is an unprecedented situation. I do not think we have seen as many people on the move for a very long time. The last time we would have seen something like this in Ireland would have been in the aftermath of the Famine and that was people moving out rather than in. Not far off 100,000 people have come to Ireland in the past year, either from Ukraine or other parts of the world applying for international protection.

Even if we had amazing foresight two years ago and decided to build a city the size of Waterford with 20,000 houses and apartments, that would be full by now. That is the scale and the numbers with which we are dealing. When we consider it that way, we have performed very well as a country and a society. We have taken in more people from Ukraine on aper capitabasis than any other country in western Europe and provided them with shelter, heat and light, accommodation, access to education and healthcare and protection. When we look back on this period, we as a country will be proud of the contribution we have made to help Ukrainians escape the terrible war that this has been visited on them by Vladimir Putin and those around him.

When it comes to the appointment of a Minister of State with specific responsibility for integration, which has been proposed by Sinn Féin, or a Minister of State with responsibility for the housing of migrants, which has been proposed by the Labour Party, I am not sure if that is the appointment of one new Minister of State or two. By the way, I do not think it is a bad idea but the law sets out very clearly that we can only have 20 Ministers of State. I am not really sure what is being proposed here. Is it additional Ministers of State to bring that figure to 21 or 22 or is it that we should suppress existing posts? If so, which ones, and why? I would be very reluctant, quite frankly, to come into the Dáil with legislation to increase the numbers of Ministers of State unless I had an understanding from other parties about whether we can increase the number from 20 to something higher, which I am open to, or whether we should abolish particular positions and if so, which ones and why. If we are going to do anything on it at all, I would really seek all-party consensus on it. I do not want to come into the Chamber and propose the appointment of extra Ministers of State only to be told this is a terrible thing by the same people who would have been calling for it for months. I hope Deputy Bacik will accept that I am sincere in that regard.

I want to say on the floor of the House that the response from the Government is co-ordinated. I do not think it is fair to say it is not. There is and must be a lead Department, as there must be for everything. In this case, the lead Department, appropriately, is the Department of Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth. There is a co-ordinated response from Government, however. There is a Cabinet sub-committee, which I chair as Taoiseach. Senior officials from my Department are across what is going on.

To give Deputies a few examples as to how other aspects of the State and the Government have helped out, as we know, the Defence Forces have provided accommodation in barracks and camps and are willing to do more. The Department of Transport provides services in the airports and ports where people arrive. The Department of Justice has a role to play as well, of course, in Border control. The Department of Further and Higher Education, Research, Innovation and Science has and will provide student accommodation in the summer for refugees, as needed. The Department of Foreign Affairs has regular engagement with the Ukrainian and other authorities. The Department of Health has provided medical cards and health services for tens of thousands of people. The Department of Education has made sure that 14,000 Ukrainian children have been enrolled in our schools. The HSE has put forward dozens of buildings to be considered for refurbishment to accommodate migrants. The Office of Public Works, OPW, is in charge of putting in place 700 modular homes for Ukrainians this year. It is, therefore, a co-ordinated response. The suggestion that the Department of Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth has been left to do it all on its own is unfair and does not stack up when we see how many other people in different Government Departments and agencies who do work in different aspects of the State are really doing all they can to help out.

I do not have any have any plans at the moment to meet with the online platforms. However, the Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment, Deputy Coveney, and Minister for Tourism, Culture, Arts, Gaeltacht, Sport and Media, Deputy Catherine Martin, do engage with the online social media platforms on a regular basis. I may ask them to take up the point in their particular meetings.

I am aware of the complaints that have been made in relation to the Address Hotel. I understand they are being investigated.

I believe we all agree that the best way to achieve peace in Ukraine is for Russia to withdraw, and if not withdraw fully from Ukraine then at least withdraw to the borders and the line of control that we had one year ago. While it is the case that from time to time EU leaders are in contact with Russia, it is not something I am doing. I have no particular relationship with President Putin. I have only met him once very briefly, but there are others who do. Those who have been in contact with him have come away with a very grim assessment that there is no interest and no willingness on the Russian side to de-escalate this conflict. We must bear in mind that it is the Russians who are firing missiles into Ukrainian cities and who are sending their drones to attack Ukrainian civilian targets. It is not the other way round. The Ukrainians cannot stop doing that. It is Russia that is occupying Ukrainian territory. What can the Ukrainians do? Should they stop defending themselves? I do not believe that is a realistic ask. I would never ask them not to defend themselves. The only prospect of peace arises when there is a change of heart and a change of minds in the Kremlin, and a willingness at the very least to pause and to pull back. That would appear to not at all be the case. In fact, they are planning an escalation and planning on murdering more people and doing as much harm and damage as they can.

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