Following the brutal invasion of Ukraine by Putin and Russia, I was proud of our country and the way we reacted. There has been a change of narrative since then and it is something we should all reflect on. Obviously, there is still a brutal war going on but on top of that, we need to be reflective, as a country and as a people, of both the huge contribution we have made to help Ukrainian people and the need for us to continue to support them in a way that is accommodating and compassionate. I have to wonder about some of the commentary that I hear across various different political classes in relation to this. It is all very well saying that they will support Ukrainian people and that they support those of us who oppose the brutal war but actions speak louder than words. Nothing is ever perfect and we have to react to a war like this in a certain way and tailor the measures we bring in. The reality is that we make mistakes but we also learn from them. At its core, what we do has to be based in compassion and has to recognise that our contribution to support them is in that fashion, rather than through any form of military support. Obviously, we are not in NATO or any military alliances and obviously we have not contributed in any way from a force point of view when it comes to countering the war effort from Russia. I am uniquely positioned to know about the impact that this war has had on the accommodation situation when it comes to tourism and hospitality because I think I am the only person here who ever worked for Bord Fáilte and Fáilte Ireland. I know exactly the impact it has had across the country, whether in Donegal, Kerry or any other place. Some of the decision-making around that certainly was imperfect. Across a range of different areas, I believe we have to minimise taking out any form of tourism accommodation. Privately, people working in Fáilte Ireland and people who work in tourism will say that. Tourism is a critical industry for our nation. It is also an industry that has geographical distribution in ways that others do not. We need to support that and we need to do so in a complete fashion. We are also losing sight of the contribution that Ukrainian people have made. My wife is from south Kerry and the contribution to hospitality down there has been incredible. In fact, without them, I think it would just stop. It is as simple as that. I know of young lads who are picking up glasses and washing dishes in hotels and pubs. Because they come from an agricultural background, they were driving tractors the day after they turned 16 years of age. I think the contribution that many Ukrainians have made to the Irish economy and also socially has been lost. I fundamentally believe that has been huge. The differential between the €39 we were paying a night for tourism accommodation versus the ARP is hugely significant and something we need to bear in mind. I appreciate the volume of properties that have been used in different geographical locations has been spread disproportionately. That is probably something we could have looked at in a different way in how we were co-ordinating things. It is obvious that there have been impacts on the rental market. Nothing is ever perfect, as I said at the outset. If we end this just like that, the impacts on the rental market in reverse will be a flood of new people coming onto the rental market. We need to bear in mind that it works both ways. When thinking about this, we need to consider how that would be managed or else people will be standing up here, shouting and roaring - rightly so - about more people being homeless. In his contribution, the Minister said further steps will also to be taken. It is a pretty generic statement as regards to the wind-down and this being the last year. We are extending it for one more year and then we are changing the amount but there will be further steps taken in the next year. I presume these are interim steps as regards the wind-down. He might give more information as to what those are. He has obviously changed the amount and he has told us the date for closing it, but is there something additional in between? I am a little bit lost about what he said about the additional measures in the interim. In all of this we need to consider that we are not in control of all the variables here. What happens if this war goes to a different level? What if the EU has to respond in a different way? What happens if this war escalates? It is impossible to know where the temporary protection order is going to go at an EU level. I do not expect the Government to know either. I am saying this out straight. The Minister is saying on the floor of the Dáil and in the media that this will be it in a year's time. I know other countries have acted but they may all have to reverse course. We do not know where this is going to go. We need to be quite nimble and think about how we are going to react on this because there could be unintended consequences if we bring the shutter down in the manner the Government proposes. I welcome that the order has been extended but there are very many unknown variables here. We need to think very deeply about the consequences of this decision if we are to close it in a year's time, because there could be many unintended consequences, some of which are not being taken on board by some Members of the Opposition or indeed by the Government.

Sentiment score: -0.02