Richard Boyd Barrett (Dún Laoghaire, People Before Profit Alliance) | Oireachtas source

I move amendment No. 1:

To insert the following after "good offices to search for a peaceful settlement"

"— further calls for Ireland to provide increased humanitarian aid for the people of Ukraine and for Ireland to offer refuge for all people fleeing the war;

— further condemns the arrests and persecution of anti-war protestors by President Putin and the Russian state; salutes the bravery of the growing anti-war protests in Russia; and calls for support across the world for further mobilisation of anti-war movements in Russia and worldwide as the best hope for a peaceful resolution of the conflict and avoidance of the risk of war between major powers;

— further notes the risk of nuclear conflict out of Ukraine and calls on the North Atlantic Treaty Organization to de-escalate its military presence and withdraw battle groups and missiles in Eastern Europe; and

— further reaffirms that Ireland is a militarily neutral State, that it will maintain a policy of non-membership of military alliances, that it will not participate in any war or armed conflict nor aid foreign powers in any way in preparation for, or in the conduct of, war or armed conflict, including through the mechanism of the European Union, without prior assent of Dáil Éireann"

The situation developing in Ukraine is both horrendous and quite terrifying. The assault by Putin and his forces on Ukraine is barbaric, foul and obscene and must be condemned. It comes from a regime that has a long and brutal history of warmongering and despotism, whether it is suppressing dissent towards the regime by the Russian population or the bloody wars in Chechnya, Georgia and Moldova.

I was at the United States Embassy protesting last night. I recalled the fact that in 1999, I stood outside that same embassy with very few people, it should be said, protesting against the Russian slaughter in Chechnya which claimed the lives of 50,000 to 80,000 people, but was little remarked on in the western world at the time. It is vitally important we extend our solidarity to the Ukrainian people whose suffering is unspeakable. We must do absolutely everything to extend humanitarian assistance, solidarity and support to Ukrainian people and defend, absolutely, their right to resist this brutal invasion of their country.

We believe the Government's motion is one sided because it does not, as our amendment does, allude to hope in this rather dark and grim situation - the Russian anti-war movement of ordinary Russians that has exploded on to the streets. It proves that huge numbers of Russians do not stand behind Putin and oppose everything he is doing. We must do absolutely nothing to undermine that movement of opposition to Mr. Putin but, rather, do everything we can to support and nurture that heroic resistance.

Most important, we must not pour petrol on this dangerous fire which could be inflamed to the terrifying, unthinkable point of the use of nuclear weapons, or deliberate or accidental catastrophes at nuclear power plants in that area. It is critical we warn against any escalation. As a neutral country, we have to be proactive in arguing against forces that wish to escalate this situation or seek to use it encourage militarisation, war and arms expenditure as a solution to the terrifying and dangerous situation we are witnessing in Ukraine. That is why we think it is critically important to mention NATO.

That is not to excuse Putin's behaviour. However, it was absolutely inevitable after the eastward expansion of NATO and the act of recruiting countries into a nuclear military alliance with a bloody history in Afghanistan and a history of bombing in Libya and whose major powers have been and are, as we speak, guilty of engaging in warmongering around the world. They are not the allies of the Ukrainian people and, most certainly, should not be the allies of this country, as a neutral country.

Our job should be to argue against warmongering; involvement in military alliances, the arms industry and military expenditure and to urge peace and dialogue as the way to settle conflicts. I cannot help-----

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