John Brady (Wicklow, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

I thank the Chair and the Minister. First and foremost, I commend the team working in the context of the UN Security Council under the stewardship of Ambassador Byrne. In May, the Chair, Senator Wilson and I had the honour of going over to meet some members of that team and of sitting in on some of the debates in the Security Council. One of the major issues debated was food security. I commend the work, expertise and professionalism of the team there. They are in the capable hands of Ambassador Byrne.

I will touch on several areas. Like the Minister, I could ask 50 or 60 questions on issues across the board, but I will try to be as brief as I can. Certainly, I will not be asking that many questions. Starting with the situation in Ukraine, the brutal and illegal invasion of that country is still being carried on and perpetrated by Russia. Unfortunately, we can see the tragic fallout from that daily. We see the war crimes committed by Russia. I welcome the commencement of investigations in this regard. I ask the Minister to give us a brief update on our work in this regard and on what pressure has been brought to bear to ensure that Russia is held to account for the illegal actions, war crimes and crimes against humanity it has perpetrated. Will the Minister give us an update concerning the investigations in that context?

Turning to the sanctions, I fully support the strongest possible sanctions against Russia. We must, though, ask and continue to ask the question as to how effective the sanctions are. What process or review is under way in respect of the sanctions to ensure they are having the right impact? They should be hurting the Russian regime and Putin's regime. The Minister might just outline what review there has been, or is planned to take place, regarding the effectiveness of the sanctions. We must support the sanctions, but efforts must be made to ensure public support is sustained. It has been said here and across Europe that the sanctions are having a bigger impact on ordinary citizens than where their impact is most needed, which is on Putin's regime.

The other issue I wish to touch on is Moldova. The Minister mentioned that he is due to travel to that country and to Romania. I welcome this. Recently, I was in Moldova and Romania and I saw the exceptional work and support both countries have provided in opening their countries, alongside many others, such as Poland, to Ukrainians fleeing the war. Moldova, however, the poorest country in Europe, has experienced many challenges in this regard. The Minister will be well aware of the pressures that country's systems have come under, especially its health service, due to the number of Ukrainians who have been welcomed into Moldova.

Regarding the announcement that 500 vulnerable Ukrainians in Moldova were going to be taken in by this State, and we have had this conversation here several times, the most recent information I got via a parliamentary question was that only 19 of those vulnerable refugees have landed in Ireland. This announcement was made way back in March or April 2022, so it is concerning in the context of the pressures impacting Moldova that only 19 of these 500 refugees have landed here. I ask the Minister to update the committee on this matter.

The other major issue stemming from the war in Ukraine, and also as a result of global warming, is food security. We are aware of the figure issued concerning 22 million tonnes of grain having, essentially, been locked into Ukraine because of the inability to ship that food to places like Africa and parts of the Middle East where there is a significant danger of deepening humanitarian crises. What action is being taken in this regard? It was interesting to sit in on the debate on this issue in the UN Security Council. Everyone knows this is a major challenge. The fear, and now the reality, is that famine is sweeping across many countries around the globe, but particularly those in the Horn of Africa. Major challenges are faced in this regard, even in respect of the UN World Food Programme, WFP, and the cuts implemented in that regard prior to the invasion of Ukraine. Many countries were already scaling back their commitments to the WFP. There are now major fears that the focus of many countries will shift from supporting the WFP to supporting the war effort in Ukraine and that this development will deepen the crisis in many of the countries on the brink of humanitarian crisis.

Turning to the situation in Syria, it was shocking to hear that Russia used its Security Council veto to block humanitarian aid going into northern Syria. I welcome that a solution has been found and that a resolution has now been adopted to extend the current aid programme by six months. While Russia vetoed the programme's extension for 12 months, it put forward a proposal to extend it by six months instead. Ultimately, a similar resolution was adopted. What was the difference between the proposal put forward by Russia to extend this programme by six months and the resolution that was adopted for an extension of six months?

Also on the subject of Syria, I raise the issue of there being major worry regarding Turkey's threats to carry out further invasions of north-eastern Syria. This is deeply concerning for the many Kurds living in the area because of the atrocities Turkey perpetrated against those people in the past. There has been much speculation that some kind of deal has been struck between Turkey and the US in the context of applications by Sweden and Finland to join NATO. Essentially, the suggestion is that a green light has been given to Turkey to go ahead with its military operations in north-eastern Syria. Does the Minister have a view and a position regarding this issue? Has this matter been discussed at the level of the Security Council? I ask this not only because such an action would be greatlydetrimental to the Kurdish population in the area, but because I think it will also lead to a further deepening of the humanitarian crisis in Syria.

On the European strategic compass, which the Minister mentioned, there are obvious concerns for Ireland's military neutrality in this regard. Does the Minister see implications in the context of this initiative for our military neutrality? Turning to the Commission on the Defence Forces, I note that a proposal was brought to the Cabinet and signed off on it. We will need to have a fuller debate in this committee on that report. I do not intend to delve into it now because we could be here for some time. Such a discussion would take up not just this meeting but, I am sure, several meetings.

However, the Minister might give just a brief overview of that. I have concerns about elements of it. We have to implement level of ambition 2. I am not sure what was contained in the report in respect of the issue of retention or whether the proposals that have been agreed will be sufficient to address the serious retention issues in respect of allowances etc.

The last thing I will touch on is the Middle East and Palestine. I express my serious concern about the lack of progress at Security Council level on holding Israel to account for its barbaric, illegal actions. We see that with the continuing illegal colonial settlement expansion programme. I note that President Biden is due to travel this week to Israel and, it is to be hoped, to the occupied territories as well. There is now overwhelming evidence from all the reputable human rights organisations that Israel perpetrates a policy of apartheid. We see it with the Amnesty report, with the report from Professor Michael Lynk and with many other human rights organisations all coming now to the same conclusion, that is, that Israel operates a policy of apartheid. I note the Irish Government's position. It has stated time and time again that the use of the word "apartheid" is not useful. That does not sit well with the Palestinian people, who are living through the policy of apartheid. What is the Minister's position on the matter, the Government's position on it and, more importantly, the position of the Security Council on it? Has there been any debate or discussion on this multitude of reports, including that of the UN special rapporteur, Professor Lynk? What is the likelihood of the Security Council having a debate and coming to a conclusion or an agreed position on the illegal occupation of Palestinian lands, the occupied territories and the policy of apartheid? Does the Minister believe that a position can be achieved at Security Council level?