Barry Ward (Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I recognise the Irish Air Corps and congratulate it on its centenary. Brigadier General Rory O’Connor and the more than 700 personnel who work within the Air Corps deserve our recognition for the good work they do. They have a history they can be very much proud of and, in the context of the report of the Commission on the Defence Forces, a future they can look forward to. To a large extent, the Air Corps has been underutilised. We look at, as a particular example, the lack of capacity we have as a nation in terms of radar detection of overflights of Ireland, surveillance flights and the broader extension of surveillance of our maritime exclusive economic zone. This is the future the Air Corps can look forward to. While it consolidates its past, it can look into a future where it will be of huge service to the Irish people and a tremendously important component of the Defence Forces. Unfortunately, I missed the flyover because I was in the Chamber, but it is entirely appropriate they should fly over Dublin to mark that centenary. I congratulate them and look forward to its future.

I also raise the issue of Ukrainian refugees, particularly people trafficking. It is distressing to hear stories of children being abducted from Ukraine and taken to Russia without any explanation of where they have gone or where they are now. This is another major problem and new frontier that has been crossed in this war we all hoped and thought would never happen on European soil again. For those children entering the European Union and especially for those children entering Ireland, we must do everything we can to ensure they are safe in every possible respect. There can be no question of trafficking on this island or in the European Union and we must do everything we can to ensure that does not happen.