There have been many challenges over the past number of years and more to come. The biggest, in fact, are yet to come.

I ask the Minister to address the issue of the European Union-wide response to the issues and challenges we are facing now. Will he ensure that security of the supply of food and energy, and accommodation for refugees and our own people, are the main challenges that must be dealt with? It is better to have a unified approach than everybody having their own individual answers. Will the Minister use his influence with his European colleagues for that purpose?

I absolutely agree with the Deputy that our strength of response must be a unified one. I am sure the Taoiseach will carry out exactly that at the European Council today and tomorrow. He did us proud with that initial response in the Thursday night meeting of the Council in which we were very strong in the response in terms of sanctions and other approaches.

I will make one background point if I may. This is an example of why this is an underlying energy issue. We are providing €10 million in humanitarian aid but prior to the prices going up, Europe was spending €350 million per day importing Russian coal, oil and gas. That is the underlying strength that goes from Europe to Russia. There was an immediate humanitarian response but the main response from Europe will be, as the European Commission wrote this week, that we rid ourselves of the dependence on Russian gas by the end of this decade. That is the centre of our response.