Micheál Martin (Cork South Central, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

Yes, that is good. Good man. I got that out of the Deputy.

Deputy Haughey spoke about the Franco-German axis and the more pragmatic approach being adopted by Chancellor Olaf Scholz. Ireland accepts Ukrainian territorial integrity. As I said earlier, our principles in our approach to the Russian-Ukrainian situation involve, first of all, acceptance of and adherence to that fundamental, rules-based international order. That is the essence of Ireland's independent foreign policy. We are not politically neutral but we are militarily neutral. It is an important distinction. We are members of the European Union. We work with our European Union colleagues on rules-based multilateral approaches to international disputes. We want a diplomatic resolution to this. We want this de-escalated. We do not believe it necessitates the massing of so many hundreds of thousands of troops. It does not necessitate a war or an invasion or the violation of Ukrainian territorial integrity. That is clear. Holding military exercises in international waters off our coast is not welcome and not helpful. There is an ecological issue here, which Deputy Christopher O'Sullivan has highlighted, in that there are other implications for marine life, biodiversity and so on that may flow from the Russian military exercises off the west coast. Ireland, along with its EU colleagues, will support comprehensive sanctions if an invasion takes place. I earnestly hope it does not. If the de-escalation of the aggression could happen, I think the world would breathe a collective sigh of relief. The world is trying to come through Covid-19 and all its implications, and now to go through another crisis, which could occur as a result of an invasion, would, I think, be very difficult for the world as a whole to deal with.

The European Union Commission has been very supportive on Brexit, and I hear what Deputy Brendan Smith has said. Ireland will play its part at the UN Security Council as a voice for peace, a voice for reason and a voice for the de-escalation of violence.

I have responded to Deputy Ó Murchú's points about the radar and so on. We have to be realistic and proportionate about the issues here. Ireland is not in the league of the big powers militarily and never will be. There are issues. The defence commission we established will come forward shortly with a view to the more medium-term strategy for the building up of our Defence Forces into the future and according to our needs as a country.

Deputy Tóibín raised the issue of inflation, which has been a constant theme today. It is very clear to us in terms of the VAT issue, but we do think there are other ways. We have already taken measures in the budget and-----

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