A Fine Gael TD is calling for the Russian Embassy in Dublin to be used to house Ukrainian refugees.

On The Pat Kenny Show this morning, Dublin Rathdown TD again called for the Russian Ambassador and his entire diplomatic staff to be expelled from Ireland.

He said residents living near the embassy are "very, very worried" about what is going on behind the gates and said the building should be used to support Ukraine rather than Russia.

“I think at this stage, we shouldn’t just be looking to expel the Russian Ambassador, as has already been done in Lithuania and Bulgaria,” he said. “We need to expel the entire 28 diplomatic staff that still remain from Russia.

“His residence, his embassy, is in my constituency in Dublin Rathdown on Orwell Road. I speak with the local residents continuously; they are very, very worried about what is going on in the embassy.

“There are continuous protests, that they welcome, in the area and just last week, the local council put up Ukrainian flags. They are quite clear that [the ambassador] is unwelcome in the immediate vicinity.”

Ukraine refugees

Deputy Richmond said Ireland has “enough problems with housing” and the Russian Embassy could be used to house Ukrainians who fled the invasion.

“We have a lot of Ukrainians that have been forced to come here by the ambassador’s country’s invasion of their country, so absolutely the Embassy on Orwell Road could be repurposed to actually help with the impacts of the war rather than continuing to be allowed [to house the Embassy],” he said.

Communication

The Government has already made it clear that there are no plans to expel the ambassador, noting that it is important to keep lines of communication open, even in times of war.

Deputy Richmond suggested Ireland should leave communication with Russia to French diplomats, the UN Security Council and the ongoing meetings between Ukraine and Russia in Turkey.

He said the fifth round of EU sanctions against Russia gave Ireland a legal right to seize the property.

"Serious threat"

“We in Ireland have the ability to follow the example of other EU member states, particularly our colleagues in the Baltics and say we have had enough,” he said.

“Every day that this ambassador and his staff remain in this country poses a serious threat to this country.”

He rejected the accusation he was ‘attention-seeking’ calling for an action he knows full well will never happen.

“This is a country that has invaded Ukraine and launched the largest war we have seen in this continent since the second world war,” he said.

“This is a country that we are sanctioning. We are not neutral on this country. This is a country we have been very clear that we are politically opposed to.

“We have the means to do this with Russia and we don’t with other countries so I fundamentally believe we should do it.”

UN Security Council

He was speaking as the Foreign Affairs Minister prepares to address the Un Security Council in New York later today.

In an interview with Newstalk, Simon Coveney said he would use the address to say Ireland believes countries must be held to account for their actions – “even countries as powerful as Russia”.