The Minister for Defence Simon Coveney has told the Dáil that he fully supports the Chief of Staff of the Defence Forces, Lieutenant General Seán Clancy.
Mr Coveney had spoken of his surprise that Lieutenant General Clancy met the Russian Ambassador to Ireland, Yuri Filatov, last Friday.
At a Fine Gael parliamentary party meeting last night, the minister said that he felt the meeting was "ill-judged" given the crisis in Ukraine.
Speaking in the Dáil today, Mr Coveney said he wanted to "address media comments" about his remarks last night.
"I have absolutely no hesitation in expressing my full support and confidence in the Chief of Staff and in his judgement," he said.
Minister for Defence Simon Coveney has expressed full confidence in the Chief of Staff of the Defence Forces, after last night speaking of his surprise that Lieutenant General Seán Clancy met the Russian ambassador to Ireland last Friday | More: https://t.co/LbdVhabW4I pic.twitter.com/donBsw9moj
— RTÉ News (@rtenews) January 27, 2022
"The Chief is holding a number of pro forma meetings" with diplomats as is usual when appointed, Minister Coveney noted.
"What I commented on last night - in response to a question - related to the timing of the meeting with the Russian ambassador, and the tweet drawing attention to it," he said.
"I have absolutely no reservations or no questions about his actions," Mr Coveney said, adding that he has been fully briefed by Lieutenant General Clancy.
"I don't think it's welcome that the Chief of Staff has been brought into public commentary and political debate, and I recognise that I have made a contribution to allowing that to happen, and I'd certainly like to correct that this morning," he said.
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Sinn Féin's spokesperson for foreign affairs and defence, John Brady, earlier accused Mr Coveney of "undermining" Lieutenant General Clancy with his comments.
Speaking on RTÉ's Morning Ireland, Mr Brady said that Mr Coveney "took it upon himself in a public way" to make these comments and that it was "poor judgement" to do this.
The matter is "another distraction", he added, when Ireland's focus should be on "utilising" its position on the UN Security Council to push for a de-escalation of the situation in Ukraine.
Ireland uses very little gas from Russia, Varadkar tells Dáil
The Tánaiste has told the Dáil that Ireland uses very little gas from Russia.
Leo Varadkar said that his departmental officials had examined the issue and concluded that "Ireland doesn't use very much Russian gas".
He was responding to Independent TD Michael Fitzmaurice.
The EU depends on Russia for around a third of its gas supplies. Any interruptions to its Russian imports would exacerbate an existing energy crisis caused by shortages.
Half of Ireland's gas is sourced domestically and the other half comes through Britain, the Tánaiste said.
He acknowledged that "there would be a knock-on effect" if supplies were cut globally.
And he said that the Government appreciates that rising prices generally is "creating a real squeeze" for people.
Meanwhile, Mr Coveney said the Government has contingency plans in place to ensure the safety of its staff at the Irish embassy in Kyiv, which was opened last year.
"We have contingency plans if people need to leave, but we don't regard it as appropriate at this stage to bring people home," he told the Dáil this morning.
"Should Ukraine be invaded by Russia" it would have "enormous" consequences for the relationship between Russia and the EU, the minister said.
"Through all of this, we are going to support Ukrainian sovereignty," he told his party colleague Neale Richmond.
