Neale Richmond (Dublin Rathdown, Fine Gael)
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608. To ask the Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade the actions that have been taken by his Department to enforce European Union sanctions against Russia; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [1045/23]

Neale Richmond (Dublin Rathdown, Fine Gael)
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609. To ask the Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade the actions that have been taken by his Department to enforce European Union sanctions against Belarus; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [1059/23]

Micheál Martin (Cork South Central, Fianna Fail)
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I propose to take Questions Nos. 608 and 609 together.

The Cross-Departmental International Sanctions Committee (CDISC) monitors, reviews, and coordinates the implementation, administration and exchange of information on international sanctions regimes in Ireland. The Department of Foreign Affairs chairs CDISC. In this capacity, I am responding to these two related questions on behalf of a number of Departments.

CDISC is comprised of officials from the Departments of Agriculture; Enterprise, Trade & Employment; Environment, Climate & Communications; Finance; Foreign Affairs; Justice; Tourism, Culture, Arts, Gaeltacht, Sport and Media; and Transport, as well as officials from An Garda Síochána; the Central Bank of Ireland; the National Security Analysis Centre; the Office of the Attorney General; and the Office of the Revenue Commissioners. Officials from other Departments and agencies join CDISC meetings on an ad hoc basis. While various Committee members lead on different areas of sanctions implementation (e.g., the Central Bank of Ireland leads on asset freezes, the Department of Justice on travel bans, and the Department of Enterprise, Trade and Employment, in conjunction with the Revenue Commissioners, on import and export controls), there is a high level of coordination between CDISC members on all implementation matters.

Within the EU, each Member State is required to designate competent authorities that are engaged with sanctions issues, and to grant derogations where provided for under EU sanctions regimes. In Ireland, the three national competent authorities for EU sanctions are my Department, the Department of Enterprise, Trade and Employment, and the Central Bank of Ireland. The three competent authorities work closely together when considering and granting derogations, particularly in the context of sanctions on Russia and Belarus.

Ireland has fully supported and implemented the sanctions adopted in response to Russia’s illegal invasion of Ukraine, including the sanctions imposed on Belarus for its role in supporting Russia in this conflict. The extent of these sanctions is unprecedented in EU history, and the level of coordination and cooperation on sanctions matters among EU Member States, as well as at national level, has increased as a result.

In March 2022, the European Commission set up a “Freeze and Seize Task Force”, to ensure coordination at EU level of work done by Member States on sanctions implementation in the context of the war in Ukraine. Ireland participates in this Task Force, as well as in its four sub-committees, at official level. The Commission also convened a high-level Expert Group on sanctions in October 2022, to discuss how the EU and its Member States can improve sanctions implementation concerning Russia and Belarus, which officials from my Department attended. At national level, we have significantly increased our reporting to the Commission of Russian funds frozen in Ireland, now updating on a weekly basis. At present, €1.8 billion is frozen.

All Government Departments and agencies in Ireland remain committed to fully implementing and enforcing EU sanctions on Russia and on Belarus, with implementation and enforcement of these measures discussed regularly at meetings of CDISC. Ireland stands resolutely with Ukraine and its people, and is unwavering in its support of Ukraine's independence, sovereignty and territorial integrity within its internationally recognised borders.