Gary Gannon (Dublin Central, Social Democrats) | Oireachtas source

In the brief time I have I am going to focus on two points of immediate concern. First is COVAX and the issue of vaccine distribution around the world, particularly in the developing world. The Taoiseach has mentioned in the pre-European Council statements and again today in his discussion with Deputy McDonald the continued support for COVAX. COVAX reached a milestone a couple of days ago on 15 January, when it gave out its billionth vaccine. That was half the intended target announced earlier in the year. Beyond that, only 36 of the 194 WHO states have vaccinated over 10% of their population. Some 84% of people in Africa have yet to receive a single dose. COVAX relies on the market, and the market has proven not to be a reliable source for confronting health inequalities around the world since the dawn of time. COVAX is failing yet we continue to stay committed to it. The Financial Timesreported yesterday that COVAX is no longer able to accept any more doses because of cash shortages. That is incredible. The mechanism by which we are distributing the vaccine to the developing world cannot send any more doses because of cash shortages. It needs $5.2 billion, we are told, in a time when there is militarisation happening on the borders of Europe that I guarantee is costing a hell of a lot more. That is what is holding up vaccine distribution around the world.

We have started to see a little bit of sunlight in this country in respect of the pandemic but it is by no means over. If people around the developing world are still unable to receive vaccines at an equitable level, we are going to continue to create the perfect incubation conditions for the virus to mutate, spread, transform and place us all at risk. COVAX has proven not to be an appropriate mechanism to deal with this pandemic and plague. It has demonstrated that powerful richer nations are placing their own needs before those of the rest of the world, foolishly. I implore the Government and the Taoiseach through our role in the EU and on the UN Security Council to step away from this market-led attempt to address vaccine inequity. It is not working. Epidemiologists around the world are calling for a TRIPS waiver. We have been calling for that from the very beginning of the pandemic. It is not the be-all and end-all; there are other issues. It is certainly better than what we have and what COVAX has delivered. COVAX is not suitable for its intended purpose.

We should also talk about the militarisation and build-up along the Ukrainian border and what I will call the Russian excursions. While I do not really want to focus on the military testing that is happening 240 km off the Old Head of Kinsale, I also do not want to see that in isolation. We have also seen Russian incursions into our airspace over the past two years. We have seen Russians tracking over our undersea cables. Now we see a missile test 240 km out to sea in our economic zone. How we respond to that is very important.

Nobody here is going to claim our response should be any form of engagement in creeping militarisation of the European Union, NATO or anything like that. We need to respond in the way we have always done, respecting our neutrality but also pressing forward in terms of our diplomacy and seeing ourselves as peaceful actors in the world. That is the only response we can take. Since the dawn of time it has been said that the strong do what they will while the weak suffer what we must. Ireland is not a weak country by any stretch of the imagination. Our role as peacekeepers and diplomats on the world stage means we should be people who attempt to bring others to the table, standing in solidarity with the people of Ukraine who have suffered enormously over recent years in conflict with the Russian Federation, but also saying this strong-man position that has been taken up by the US, Russia and NATO forces is not compatible with a modern world. We know how that ends. We do not want it again. It is not part of our peace. Too many lives have been lost in that regard. We need to be strong in terms of holding the diplomatic response, engaging with the Russian ambassador as far as we can, and highlighting that we do not want these military actions taking place off our coast to the detriment of our environment and our sea life. It has been said Ireland is somewhat of a weak link into the European Union or into NATO's territories. That is not what we should be. We should be forceful and strong in our condemnation of militarisation but also proud in standing up for peace in a world that seems to be becoming increasingly fragile.

See this speech in context