Garret Ahearn (Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I agree with many of the comments Senator Dooley made. The Cathaoirleach will agree with me in wishing more people had seen the game, as they would have seen that Tipperary should have won it and not thrown it away in the last five minutes.

I ask for a debate with the Tánaiste and Minister for Foreign Affairs on companies selling into Russia, particularly Jameson's owner, Pernod Ricard, which started selling into Russia last September and has sold almost €16 million worth of Jameson product. I have seen in the past 24 hours pictures of Jameson whiskey on sale in Russia. It was bottled in Ireland on 16 December 2022, only four months ago, in Clondalkin with the description stating it was sold to an importer in Russia in Moscow. It shows how easily and quickly Pernod Ricard is selling the product in Russia, with all disregard for the war in Ukraine. They talk about supporting the people of Ukraine against an illegal war but not at the expense of losing income.

I called last week for this to be stopped. The Ukrainian ambassador has called for it to be stopped. Any reasonable person in this country knows the damage this does to our international reputation but it seems the company, based in France, has no intention of changing its decision. I call on the Tánaiste and Minister for Foreign Affairs to step up and name Pernod Ricard as a company the EU needs to sanction and put on the sanctions list at the next Council meeting. If it is not willing to do it, we as a Government should do it. There are 1,200 companies in Europe selling into Russia that the Ukrainian MPs and Government are asking us to sanction. Jameson is one of the most well-known brands across the world. If we do not pick Pernod Ricard as a company to sanction, which one do we pick?