John Gerard Hanafin (Fianna Fail)

I congratulate the Cathaoirleach on his work during his term, which has been a study of how a quiet way can be very effective. I ask the Leader to ask the Minister for Foreign Affairs to raise a matter, which occurred when the general election was ongoing, with our partners in Europe, particularly Estonia. I am raising it at the first opportunity.

A statue of a Russian soldier was removed from public view in Estonia without consultation or agreement with the minority Russian population in there. One does not need to be a student of history as it is well known that the Russian soldiers fought for their motherland rather than communism or Stalinism. If the powers wished to give a kick to the shins of Stalinism or the Soviet Union, that is one thing, but the action of removing the statue was gratuitous and unhelpful.

Brave soldiers lost their lives and we should remember that the Second World War was predominantly fought on the Eastern front, with deaths there on a factor of ten to one. I would like the Leader to ask the Minister for Foreign Affairs to attend to the matter.