Seán Haughey (Dublin Bay North, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

Russia has embarked on a full-scale invasion of Ukraine since we debated this situation in the Dáil six days ago. The Russian war is illegal and a serious violation of international law. Russia's attack is totally unjustified and Ireland and the EU are right to demonstrate steadfast support for Ukrainians' rights to sovereignty and territorial integrity. Peace has been shattered and the horror of war and war crimes have been visited on Europe once again. This has resulted in unprecedented solidarity on the part of the EU in support of the Ukrainian people. I welcome that. Despite a little hesitation by a few member states late last week, the EU has since adopted the most comprehensive package of sanctions ever in the case of Russia. I am proud that Ireland supported this extensive package from the outset, including the exclusion of key Russian banks from SWIFT.

It is important that the Dáil should carefully consider the implications of the agreement last weekend by EU foreign ministers in respect of the European peace facility. This is a significant shift for the Union, or a watershed moment, as the President of the European Commission described it. The European peace facility is a new EU programme, agreed last year, on security and defence. Given our traditional peacekeeping role and long-standing policy that no Irish funds shall be spent on weapons, it is right that Ireland abstained constructively on the lethal weapons package and supported the non-lethal weapons proposals. Ukraine certainly is an exceptional case but there must be ongoing scrutiny of the European peace facility by the Oireachtas and clear guidelines on its future use in another context.

What are we to do about the calls for a breaking off of diplomatic relations with Russia and the expulsion of its ambassador to Ireland? Irish people are horrified by the lies Yuri Filatov has told in recent weeks, culminating in his outrageous interview with David McCullagh on RTÉ's "Six One News" last Friday. In these circumstances, I had no hesitation in saying at the weekend that this man is not welcome in Ireland. I hear what the Government is saying about the value of keeping diplomatic channels open between Dublin and Moscow but I am not sure about that. We certainly should expel a number of Russian diplomats and so-called operatives in the coming days. I am glad the expulsion of the ambassador is still under consideration, having regard to the ongoing work on co-ordinated action at EU level. I look forward to receiving the Minister's advice on this ongoing situation in due course.

We have a humanitarian crisis on our EU borders. It is heart-breaking to view the emotional scenes at the borders of Poland, Moldova, Hungary, Romania and Slovakia, where families are being broken up and women and children try desperately to reach the security barriers. Millions of Ukrainians are being displaced. We need to put in place special refugee programmes here in Ireland, in conjunction with the EU, to assist Ukrainians fleeing this war. I welcome the measures in this regard announced by the Minister for Justice earlier in the House. We must show full solidarity with the people of Ukraine at this very difficult time.

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