Department of Foreign Affairs won't release Helen McEntee's 'closed door' dinner remarks at oligarch event

The Department of Foreign Affairs won’t release records of what Helen McEntee told an off-record closed-door dinner organised by Ukrainian billionaire Victor Pinchuk's Board of Yalta. 

Pinchuk has been described by Forbes magazine as an “oligarch” and is worth almost $3 billion. In 2015 his foundation paid $150,000 for a 19-minute call with Donald Trump who addressed one of its events. Pinchuk says he created the conference to promote Ukraine’s entry to the EU. 

McEntee’s Department of Foreign Affairs won’t release the guests who attended the private event with the minister nor records of what she said – saying the release would harm Ireland’s international reputation. 

‘Without cameras or a formal stage’ 

Records released to The Ditch under freedom of information legislation show Helen McEntee went to the 13 February dinner during her trip to the Munich Security Conference in February. 

An itinerary shows she was scheduled to attend a "Ukraine Dinner" hosted by Yalta European Strategy (YES) and the Victor Pinchuk Foundation at Munich's Schneider Bräuhaus.

The itinerary described the event as "Minister only – off the record, closed-door" with 90 other participants and noted that McEntee was to "deliver brief remarks during event."

Pinchuk has called on the west to drop all restrictions on how Ukraine uses the weapons it is given. "At least give weapons as much as necessary, as quickly as you physically can, and without any restrictions or limitations," he said in a speech at a YES event in September 2024.

Restrictions on weapons used by Ukraine, he said, amount to "self-deterrence." His organisation claims that the more weapons Ukraine gets the lower the risk of the war escalating further. 

Other YES events have been on the record. 

At one in 2023 then-Czech president-elect Petr Pavel said "the more air defence assets we deliver to Ukraine right now, the better." On the same panel, former CIA director David Petraeus called for the west to send F-16s and long-range missiles to Ukraine and called for Ukrainian membership of NATO.  

A note prepared for McEntee says the dinner would be “held in a private environment without cameras or a formal stage” and that “the format is designed to encourage candid exchange and strategic reflection”. 

There would be discussions about how “Ukraine’s defence experience is reshaping Europe’s approach to deterrence, resilience, and long-term security”.   

Attendees would include people from the private sector, NGOs, think tanks and government figures. 

When The Ditch requested records of McEntee’s remarks the department argued releasing them would damage Ireland’s international reputation. 

An officer invoked the Freedom of Information Act that allows records to be withheld where their release "could reasonably be expected to affect adversely... the international relations of the state”. 

They also cited the section that protects information communicated in confidence on matters relating to international relations. 

The department cited two further sections against releasing the guestlist: one that protects information given to a body “in confidence” and another protecting the personal information of identifiable individuals. The Ditch has appealed both decisions. 

The Department of Foreign Affairs has been contacted for comment.