IT HAS been confirmed that the President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelenskyy has accepted an invitation to address both Houses of the Oireachtas in the coming weeks.
The invitation was extended by the Ceann Comhairle Seán Ó Fearghaíl to address both the Seanad and the Dáil, and is scheduled to take place 0n Wednesday 6 April at 10am.
The announcement was made yesterday evening by the official Houses of the Oireachtas Twitter account.
Volodymyr Zelenskyy, President of Ukraine, has accepted an invitation from the Ceann Comhairle to address both Houses of the Oireachtas on the 6th April at 10am. #seeforyourself #Ukraine 🇺🇦 🇮🇪@ZelenskyyUa pic.twitter.com/KzSBC4MSHe
— Houses of the Oireachtas - Tithe an Oireachtais (@OireachtasNews) March 23, 2022
The Ukrainian ambassador to Ireland Larysa Gerasko told an Oireachtas Committee before St Patrick’s Day that she was "working on this issue".
She said she had sent a request to Zelenskyy and she hoped "he will find a time for such an address".
In recent weeks, Mr Zelenskyy has addressed parliaments of a number of nations, most recently in Japan and Israel.
He also received a standing ovation after addressing the UK House of Commons earlier this month.
Zelenskyy will be the 22nd person to address both Houses of the Oireachtas in the history of the State.
Other people who have addressed the houses include John F Kennedy, Bill Clinton and South African president Nelson Mandela.
The Taoiseach Micheál Martin will also today attend a meeting of the European Council in Brussels which will discuss the war in Ukraine, security and defence, energy, economic issues, Covid-19 and external relations.
