Ceann Comhairle Verona Murphy attended a Swiss conference earlier this week alongside a sanctioned Russian politician.
The conference, which was held in Geneva, brought together women speakers and presidents of parliaments around the world, including Ms Murphy.
Programme materials show the 15th Summit of Women Speakers of Parliament was also addressed by Valentina Matviyenko, speaker of the council of the federation of the Russian federal assembly.
Ms Matviyenko, who has been described as an ally of Russian president Vladimir Putin, was first elected to this office in 2011 and again in 2014, 2019 and 2024, according to Russian government websites.
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The Times newspaper reported on Tuesday that she has been described as “the most powerful woman in Russia”.
In a statement on Monday, the Ukrainian ministry of foreign affairs said Ms Matviyenko’s attendance at the conference “is disgraceful and should never have happened”.
Publicly available records of individuals sanctioned arising from the Russian invasion of Ukraine show Ms Matviyenko is subject to sanctions in the United States and the UK. Her name also appears on a French registry of asset-freezing measures.
The gathering attended by Ms Murphy and Ms Matviyenko was organised as part of the Sixth World Conference of Speakers of Parliament, organised by the Inter-Parliamentary Union. Its website says it was organised in “close collaboration with the United Nations”.
In response to questions, a spokeswoman for the Houses of the Oireachtas said the Ceann Comhairle was invited to attend the summit of women speakers, which “focuses on the advancement of women in politics in the context of the geopolitical challenges that women face”.
The statement did not directly address whether the Russian speaker’s presence at the event was known to the Irish side before Ms Murphy travelled.
“Ireland is a long-standing and active member of the Inter-Parliamentary Union and regularly sends all-party delegations to attend its meetings and conferences.”
The spokeswoman added: “The summit is for women speakers only and the host nation, Switzerland, are obliged under the rules to facilitate attendance by all members of the Inter-Parliamentary Union, which operates on the same basis as the United Nations.
“As the first female speaker of Dáil Éireann, the Ceann Comhairle was proud that Dáil Éireann could finally be represented at and available to contribute to the summit of women speakers. It should also be noted that in its final declaration the women speakers voiced their solidarity with all women and girls living in conflict zones and raised concerns about the disproportionate risks they face during wars.”
