I hope she will be in your place soon enough.

Can we just restore some order, please? I call Deputy Alan Kelly.

The prospect of a full-blown war in Ukraine is edging closer. It is a sovereign country that is dealing with neocolonial actions by Russia that we should all condemn. It is not too late for diplomacy to try to de-escalate the crisis because thousands of lives are at risk. Open war is edging closer and an emergency that we have not faced in many decades is on our doorstep. Ukraine will soon declare a state of emergency and has advised its citizens to leave Russia. It is a deeply concerning time for Europe. Collectively, as a House we should, if possible, unanimously condemn what the Russian Federation has done by recognising its client states in the Donbas region of Ukraine. I hope there will be cross-party support for a motion. I formally ask the Taoiseach to put forward a motion to the House that all of us can support. We want to avoid war but it is clear who the aggressor is.

At the UN Security Council yesterday, our ambassador made clear our unwavering commitment to Ukraine's territorial integrity with its recognised borders. What further action will Ireland take at the Security Council? The Taoiseach met with the German Chancellor yesterday, who announced that the certification process of the Nord Stream 2 gas pipeline would not go ahead. Will the Taoiseach send a clear message about what sanctions will be put in place?

As documented by Fintan O'Toole yesterday, between 2005 and 2017, €118 billion was funnelled through the International Financial Services Centre, IFSC, to Russian entities. Let me repeat that figure: €118 billion. We are at risk of becoming the best small country in the world to funnel corrupt dirty Russian oligarchs' money, mostly through section 110 companies that pay little, if any, tax and with no real transparency of who the beneficial owners are. Oligarchs are washing money through countries like our own because they cannot trust their own banking system because it is so corrupt. If sanctions by the US, the UK and the EU lead to a clampdown on Russian billionaires, there is a likelihood that oligarchs and their shell companies, thousands of them, may seek to use Ireland to continue to funnel money. What are we and the Government going to do about it? I do not need to tell the Taoiseach about the impact all of this has on energy prices and the costs that will affect consumers. Can we look for a derogation from the EU on our historic 13.5% on electricity and gas to allow it to be reduced and then returned?

There are three components to my question. What actions will Ireland take at the Security Council and what sanctions will the Taoiseach implement? Will he bring forward a motion that we can collectively support and show our true colours by condemning the Russian Federation for its actions? Second, will he ensure that Russian money flowing through Ireland is targeted, because this is deeply concerning? In addition, will he look at the cost of energy prices going forward and look for a derogation from the EU on VAT rules?

I thank the Deputy for raising this very important issue. In the first instance, along with the Deputy and in the clearest possible terms, I want to condemn Russia's aggression towards its neighbour. It is unilaterally, without any justification whatsoever, threatening and undermining the integrity of an independent democratic state, and this is unacceptable. I agree with the Deputy and I have no difficulty in agreeing a joint motion in the House because Russia's behaviour deserves the unequivocal condemnation of everyone in the House. Our country's support for Ukrainian sovereignty, territorial integrity and its right to choose its own foreign and security policy is unwavering.

We have to send out a clear and strong signal of our support for Ukrainian sovereignty. We made that clear at the UN Security Council emergency meeting, which was held on 21 January, and this continues to be our position. The situation at the Security Council in itself is challenging. Russian is a permanent member of the Council and has veto power. We have witnessed a major escalation, which clearly contravenes international law in the Russian decision to proceed with recognition of the non-government controlled areas of Donetsk and Luhansk as independent entities. The decision to move military personnel to those areas represents a major escalation and creates a challenging situation all round.

On sanctions, we are part of the EU-wide sanctions regime. The European Union along with the United States, and working in concert with other like-minded countries that value democracy, have agreed a range of sanctions in the listing of individuals, 27 influential oligarchs, business people, politicians, and military leaders, the Russian minister for defence, military commanders leading the operation, individuals from the media, propaganda sectors, 351 MPs in the Russian Duma who voted for the recognition, of which 22 are already listed, the listing of entities and asset freeze. This is in addition to the myriad of the Crimea-related sanctions regime on imports and exports into the Donbas region, as well as financial restrictions prohibiting lending to the Russian central bank, and asset freezes of two private banks.

On the IFSC and the report to which the Deputy referred in respect of 2005 and 2017 and billions being funnelled through the IFSC to Russian entities, we will share in any sanctions with the European Union and we will support all sanctions, including the targeting of the ability of the Russian state to access the European Union's capital and financial markets, which will be a significant sanction in itself. The financial services offering of the IFSC, as the Deputy knows, relates to special purpose vehicles. Since 2018, legislation has been enacted in regard to money laundering and other matters.

I welcome the fact that a motion will be brought forward condemning Russia's actions. I believe we should do it as soon as possible. We will work with the Taoiseach on that. It is absolutely necessary that everybody in the House supports this and shows their colours on this.

I have a deep concern in relation to the issue of Russian money coming into this country and being cleaned. My colleague, Deputy Howlin, brought forward the Proceeds of Crime (Gross Human Rights Abuses) Bill, known as the Magnitsky Bill, in 2020. We should bring this through the House, because the legislation of 2018 referred to by the Taoiseach is, unfortunately, simply not covering it. Collectively, we must seriously consider it. Deputy Howlin brought this Bill forward and we are open to changes, but this is absolutely necessary now.

This country has to lead by example in what is going on. This is a very dangerous period for the world and Europe and we have to lead by example. We have a big role in the UN Security Council. In fairness, the Taoiseach had a big meeting yesterday, but we also need to lead and show that we will not tolerate a country that behaves in this manner, namely, the Russian Federation, and that we will deal with it through the legislation I propose. Will the Taoiseach support this? Will he also outline when he will bring forward the motion to condemn Russia's actions of recent weeks?

I thank the Deputy for what he said. We will work with the Whips through the Business Committee or otherwise to consider the motion. We support the idea of a cross-party motion condemning Russia's actions. Yesterday, I met with the German Chancellor, Olaf Scholz, who made a significant announcement in regard to Nord Stream. The approach all along by the European Union has been to work in concert and that unity is our strength.

It is a very dark moment for European history and the Continent. It is very serious. The sheer scale of the militarisation on the border of Ukraine is something we would have thought was a relic of the past, of the Second World War or previous wars. The whole ideological approach from President Putin, the idea that the Bolsheviks got it wrong and that Ukraine does not have a right to exist, has a chilling impact on small states like our own which enjoys 100 years of unbroken democracy. The era of states believing they have a sphere of influence and can control smaller neighbours and tell them they cannot join an organisation and must do this or that is over. We can never accept that. The most troubling aspect of the last couple of days has been the content of that speech. It harks back to a completely different era in a different century. It is very serious.