Alan Dillon (Mayo, Fine Gael)
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85. To ask the Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade the status of the situation in Ukraine; if there is a role for regional airports such as Ireland West Airport Knock to provide support via Irish Aid; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [15461/22]

Colm Brophy (Dublin South West, Fine Gael)
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I remain very concerned by the evolving humanitarian situation in Ukraine.

My Department, through Irish Aid, is guided by the need to get resources to those affected as quickly as possible. The generosity of people in Ireland towards Ukraine, the impulse to help those in need, and the strong solidarity with Ukrainians, is very welcome and is to be commended. People in Ireland who would like to assist are advised to send funds rather than goods. This can be done through donating to established Irish and international humanitarian organisations.

My Department, through the Irish Aid programme, has responded with an initial €20 million humanitarian aid package, allocated to long-term UN and Red Cross Movement partners already on active on the ground in Ukraine and neighbouring countries. This cash has enabled immediate assistance to be delivered to Ukrainians in need, including those that have been displaced by the conflict, and to enable the work of those seeking to establish vital humanitarian corridors. A dedicated call for proposals for Irish NGOs ready to respond is also being launched.

Separately, pre-positioned Irish Aid funds meant that UN agencies were able to respond from the first day of the invasion – for example, Ireland is among the top ten donors to the UN Central Emergency Response Fund, which has released over €50 million already to its Ukraine response

Working with the HSE though the coordinated EU Civil Protection Mechanism, Irish Aid has supported the dispatch of urgent medical supplies to Ukraine. Use of the EU Civil Protection Mechanism ensures fast and targeted provision of needed supplies, and helps avoid clogging of supply lines with unnecessary goods.

Given that the Irish Aid emphasis is to provide financial support to agencies already active on the ground, it is not clear what role regional airports might play in supporting my Department’s response. The Department of Housing, Local Government and Heritage represents Ireland in the European Civil Protection Mechanism and may have views on what role, if any, regional airports might play as part of the coordinated EU response.

Willie O'Dea (Limerick City, Fianna Fail)
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86. To ask the Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade if he expects the International Criminal Court to take action over the situation in Ukraine; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [15148/22]

Simon Coveney (Cork South Central, Fine Gael)
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On 2 March 2022, Ireland joined a group of concerned States in referring the situation in Ukraine to the International Criminal Court. This followed the announcement on 28 February 2022 by ICC Prosecutor Karim Khan that he had decided to begin the process of opening a formal investigation into the situation in Ukraine.

As Ukraine is not a party to the Rome Statute of the Court, any investigation of the situation there would require the authorisation of the Court’s Pre-Trial Chamber, which is a lengthy process. That process can be avoided if a state party to the Statute refers the situation to the Prosecutor's Office.

It was for this reason that Ireland and 40 other states parties referred the situation in Ukraine to the Prosecutor, enabling him to immediately begin an investigation into alleged crimes currently unfolding in Ukraine and to commence evidence-collection.

The Prosecutor previously established that there was a reasonable basis to believe that war crimes and crimes against humanity have been committed in Crimea and war crimes in Eastern Ukraine since 2014. The recent Russian invasion of Ukraine has, of course, drastically escalated the conflict beyond Eastern Ukraine.

The Prosecutor has now deployed an investigation team to the region that has already commenced evidence-collection activities and his Office has established a dedicated portal through which any person who may hold information relevant to the Ukraine situation can contact ICC investigators.

By joining the referral of the situation in Ukraine to the ICC, Ireland has demonstrated its strong commitment to international justice as well as to accountability for atrocity crimes arising out of the Russian invasion of Ukraine.

Ireland, together with its EU partners, has been a consistent and strong supporter of the ICC and will continue to support its important work.