I am glad to have the opportunity to contribute on post European Council statements. The discussions at the meeting were very much dominated by the war that is still going on in the Middle East. It is an impossible thing because it is changing by the day. A meeting of the European Council could be convened, and all terms could have changed by the evening time. Nearly all of this is outside the control of the Government and the European Union bloc, but how we respond to it is within our control. I, like other Members, went out two weeks ago and met with protestors regarding the fuel prices. I met some of the best of people there and their concerns were very legitimate, and a package was eventually agreed by the Government. While we all knew it, although it does not always directly stare us in the face, and it was a concern during that week, was that some of the parameters of our taxation regime when it comes to fuels and VAT rates are controlled by the European Union. The European Union bloc needs to reflect on that and have more flexibility at this time. I note that Poland and Spain were reprimanded in words, but we do not know to what extent they will be reprimanded thereafter. I do not know what the outcome of that discussion was, but we need more certainty because this war has become so uncertain. It is a very fluid situation. The Government's responses will have to be fluid, as will those of other European states. If everything we hear in the media today is true, this is going to continue beyond the month of April and possibly through the summer. If that is the case, it will require more interventions by the Government and State. It will also require more interventions by other European governments. We need to know how rigid the European Commission and eurozone's parameters are and what more can be done by the European bloc. The Ukrainian conflict is repeatedly spotlighted in Europe. We speak about it through one lens, but I have heard from countries on the eastern flank of the European bloc that they fear the conflict in real terms. They have had huge budgetary shifts whereby they have moved spending programmes from certain fields to a military spend. It is alarming how militarised the eastern flank of the European Union has had to become. Last month, President Zelenskyy and his cabinet published figures which Russia has said it disputes. The figures from the Ukrainian Government state that 19,546 Ukrainian children were effectively kidnapped or rehomed during the early months of the war and have not been brought back. Some have been domiciled in Russia for four years. I do not know under what circumstances that has happened. I have tried multiple times to find out what is going on there. We refer to front lines, Zaporizhzhia, power plants being banned and drones going into the sky, but 20,000 children, which is a huge number, are missing. We do not know where they are, how they are being cared for or how many have been repatriated with their parents. There have been prisoner exchanges throughout the war. Russian and Ukrainian prisoners have been handed back. When I examined this issue a couple of months ago, the figure was around 19,000. What the hell is going on? It is perverse in any conflict that children who have been taken alive from a front-line war situation are held against their will and that of their families. The correct word to use is "kidnapped". They have been kidnapped by the Russian state. Vladimir Putin has blood on his hands. It is perverse and wrong that almost 20,000 Ukrainian children are in Russia. I have not heard this discussed sufficiently by any European leader in many months. I ask that the issue be spotlighted from an Irish position when the Minister of State is next in Brussels. I refer to the recent attacks in Lebanon, which were discussed. The welfare of military personnel, be they Irish or other nationalities, should be of utmost concern to us and attacks on them should be condemned. Things are going to gear up quite a lot over the coming weeks as we prepare for the EU Presidency, which will be a very proud moment for our country. I look forward to different events taking place around the country and I thank the Minister of State for the effort he has put in so far with his opposite numbers across the European bloc and here in Government channels to devise a positive programme from an Irish perspective. I conclude by reiterating my point on the parameters of taxation and what we can do with mother ship Europe. We need interventions on the home front as this crisis continues. All of that needs to be very much spotlighted. As I said, close to 20,000 Ukrainian children are missing. There have to be answers. When something goes out of the media spotlight it filters away and no longer becomes a source of discourse. This should matter to us.

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