Barry Ward (Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

Cuirim fáilte roimh an Aire Stáit ar an ábhar tábhachtach seo. I support the motion and I am delighted that Fine Gael has brought it forward.

With regard to the support we are offering Ukraine, I have to say I am tremendously proud of the response of Ireland and the Government and of our communities and people throughout the country. We have had the generosity and céad míle fáilte for which we are famous. Unfortunately we do not always live up to it. It has been very much evident in the response to this crisis. It is lovely to see. I hope it is much more reflective of who we are than anything else. The manner in which Irish people have welcomed Ukrainians here is appropriate and laudable.

Yesterday I attended the funeral of Pierre Zakrzewski. I did not know him personally but he attended the same school as I did. He was from my area. The breadth of feeling for his loss, given all of his experience and the wonderful life he led, was palpable yesterday. It is still only a fraction of what so many Ukrainian families are going through. All of his family wore Ukrainian colours and they were given out to people in the church. They certainly feel the loss that so many Ukrainian families feel in Ukraine and throughout the world.

Some of what has been said in the course of the debate has hit home. We see what is happening and it is deplorable. It is unlawful. In many respects what we are seeing are war crimes. Mention has already been made in the House on other occasions to the International Criminal Court. I have welcomed the fact that the prosecutor in the International Criminal Court, Mr. Karim Khan, has opened a file on this subject with a view to a possible future prosecution of Vladimir Putin, Russia and the people perpetrating these offences. This is also to be welcomed.As counsel before the International Criminal Court - and there are not many Irish people in that boat - I look forward to that happening. It is difficult to see how this is going to end. I do not really understand the rationale behind this conflict. Even if Vladimir Putin triumphs, which he is finding a great deal more difficult than his generals appear to have told him it would be, I do not understand how a country like Ukraine could be occupied when there are tens of millions of people there who will not accept his rule or occupation and who will continue to resist. We have seen the pride evident among Ukrainians here and throughout the world. I do not understand how Vladimir Putin could have calculated this action as coming to a conclusion that is in any way favourable to Russia. There is extraordinary unity across the world against Russia. We saw the resolution of the General Assembly of the United Nations passing with only four or five countries opposing. One of the remarkable elements of this conflict is how it has brought the whole world together. Countries that do not agree with each other most of the time are now in wholehearted agreement in condemning this action. I do not see how Vladimir Putin or Russia can exit this with anything that could be deemed to be success from their perspective or anything that is any way dignified. They have thrown away their credibility, dignity and any international respect they had, respect that had already waned over recent years. It is a really unfortunate position.

To move on to one of things that we in Ireland and across Europe can do, we have now imposed a freeze on Russian assets here, in other European countries and throughout the world. I refer not only to state assets, but also personal assets. Those assets have been frozen and there is a de facto sanction in place. What is going to happen to those assets? Whatever about personal assets, can Russian state assets in Ireland that have been frozen be somehow channelled into the reconstruction of Ukraine or used for the benefit of the Ukrainian people, who have been irredeemably injured by this conflict? That is something we could look at doing in the future, when we are nearing the end of this conflict. How are we going to punish Russia in that way? Is it within our power to do so? I would like to see Ireland taking a lead on that front and saying that we will seize those Russian state assets and give them to Ukraine in some way or other to support its reconstruction.