Liam Twomey (Fine Gael)

It was a great tragedy for the Polish people to lose their President in such a sad manner. On behalf of Fine Gael, I extend our sympathy to the families and friends of the late President, Mr. Lech Kaczynski; his wife, Maria, and all of the officials, military leaders and dignitaries who were on board the flight on that fateful day. It is made more poignant by the fact that they were due to attend an event commemorating another great tragedy in Poland's history. Poland's history since that initial tragedy, where thousands of their best and brightest young army officers were murdered, has been tinged with tragedy. We should take from this episode the comments and genuine regret expressed by the Russian Federation Prime Minister Vladimir Putin and the President, Mr. Medvedev. This may be the beginning of a new era for the people of Poland. Poland is a committed member of the European Union and a new dawn of rapprochement with the Russian Federation would be good for both Europe and the Polish people.

Mr. Kaczynski was instrumental in this new era for Poland. He was one of the leading members of the Solidarity movement with Lech Walesa when the communist era was overthrown. He went on to work as a politician and became President of the new Poland. I hope his death and the death of all those other people has not been in vain and that Poland will continue to enjoy this new era. On behalf of Fine Gael, I extend my sympathies to the people of Poland living in Ireland and everywhere else in the world and in Poland. May Mr. Kaczynski, his wife Maria and the other officials rest in peace.