Thomas Byrne (Meath East, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

Gabhaim buíochas le gach Ball a ghlac páirt sa díospóireacht. Táim buíoch go bhfuilimid d'aon ghuth ag tabhairt tacaíochta don Úcráin sa Dáil. Mar a dúramar an tseachtain seo caite agus inniu, tá sé ríthábhachtach go dtabhairfaimis ár dtacaíocht iomlán don Úcráin.

President Zelenskiy has rightly said that Ukrainians are not just fighting for Ukraine, but for what we have - peace, equality, democracy, the right to vote for who we want, the right to speak in the manner we wish, and a free media. As a nation that values these highly, it is incumbent on us all to make clear our solidarity with Ukraine. The Government's motion, which I support, states that Ireland is fully committed to the UN principles of sovereign equality and territorial integrity of states, that Ukraine has the right to ensure the security and defence of its territory, and that Ireland condemns Russian aggression in Ukraine and calls on Russia to withdraw its military.

I am aware that some negotiations were attempted between Ukraine and the aggressor states at the border between Belarus and Ukraine.

It is not clear how impactful these negotiations might be or if the Russian side recognises what it must do at a minimum, that is, withdraw all of its forces from the Ukraine, including Crimea and Donbas, cease to undermine Ukraine's territorial integrity and recognise Ukraine's sovereignty unreservedly. This, and only this, would adhere to the UN principles of sovereign equality and territorial integrity of states. The United Nations Security Council has not been able to appropriately address the Russian and Belarusian violation of UN principles due to Russia's use of its veto.

I have heard it said many times in this debate and last week as well that Ireland must use its voice at the United Nations Security Council. I take this opportunity to pay tribute to our ambassador, Geraldine Byrne Nason, who gave a very evocative speech a number of weeks ago in which she spoke about Ireland's past. I refer also to that very evocative photograph of our deputy ambassador, Jim Kelly, who was voting to hold a special session of the General Assembly to counteract the Russian veto at the UN Security Council as best we could. Our diplomats and our entire team are doing tremendous work at the United Nations. We are very proud of them.

Russia cannot prevent it being held accountable for its actions. That is what we have been working on at the UN Security Council over the past few weeks. As an Irish team, we have focused on the new humanitarian crisis triggered by Russia's invasion. This futile and needless act of aggression has compounded the suffering of millions, with hundreds of thousands, perhaps more, internally displaced refugees now in need of humanitarian assistance. At this moment, in underground bunkers, underground carparks and bomb shelters, there are families, children, women, men, old and young, trying to sleep not only with the physical discomfort but mental torture that must accompany that, which none of us in this House has any experience of. It must be horrific. Let us think of those people who at this minute are sheltering in fear, many of them in the underground, it being the only possible safe place they may have because of the aggression of Russia.

Let us not forget that Russia's friend in Belarus, the autocratic dictator, President Alexander Lukashenko, is an aggressor as well. We have spoken many times about the violations of human rights and the oppression of civil society in Belarus. We have condemned the Lukashenko regime for oppressing its people and jeopardising neighbouring relations with the EU. President Lukashenko has gone too far now as well. The military build-up of Russian troops in Belarus at the border with the Ukraine, which was 1,000 km long, took place under the pretext of a joint training exercise between Russia and Belarus. President Lukashenko has not only given in to and co-operated with this Russian aggressor, he has humiliated his own country by handing over the sovereignty of Belarus to President Vladimir Putin. On Sunday, when the aggression against Ukraine was ongoing, the Belarusian regime organised a constitutional referendum which lacked any democratic review process. This was outrageous. The Belarusian people continue to protest against the internal terror and the recent aggression on Ukraine but their attempts to hold the regime accountable result in detentions and further oppression.

On the IFSC, I want it to be clear that the IFSC is not a means of evading sanctions, as has been suggested by one or two Deputies on the opposite side of the House. The proportion of funds in the IFSC that are Russian-connected is tiny. Let us not forget that the IFSC is responsible for financial services in general and for approximately 50,000 jobs in this country. Any company or person on the sanctions list will not be able to deal in the IFSC. The previous sanctions have had an impact in reducing the number of Russian funds in the IFSC. Any company or person who has been sanctioned cannot deal there. I have no doubt that following on from the announcement of the sanctions at the weekend there are people in offices around this city tonight working out, as they did yesterday, who they have stop doing business with. That is happening. That is what the sanctions are doing. There will be no escape from those sanctions. As this is a changing situation, the sanctions are constantly changing. We have gradually moved forward. I am very proud of the unity that we have shown around the European table. I am proud also of the Taoiseach, Deputy Martin, who was to the fore in proposing that the SWIFT system be subject to sanctions and on coming to the conclusion with his fellow leaders after a discussion that there was no way that leaders could leave the European Council and explain that President Putin or Foreign Minister Lavrov were not subject to sanctions so they have been subject to sanctions.

The bravery of the people of Ukraine and their commitment to democracy has been demonstrated to a previously unfathomable degree. The resistance towards invasion has been fierce. We know that the Ukrainian people rightly refuse to cede any inch of their sovereign territory. There has been a deliberate and orchestrated disinformation campaign but the Ukrainians have been able to address and give information and hope to their people. We have seen President Zelenskiy do that. The Government will continue to work at a European level. We have had two General Affairs Councils, a European Council, two Justice and Home Affairs Councils, two Foreign Affairs Councils and at this minute our diplomats are working on this issue. There is a huge amount of work going on by the Irish Government at a European Union and among parliamentarians as well.

I was quite touched when Deputy Creed referred to the OSCE Parliamentary Assembly in Vienna. My first visit abroad as a Member of this Dáil was to the OSCE Parliamentary Assembly in Kyiv. We were there as democrats with our fellow democrats - not all in the OSCE are democracies - representing our countries, meeting colleagues and having discussions. It is tragic to think of what is happening there today. I have no doubt that when this is over, somehow, we will look forward and work with and invest in Ukraine and its democratic future, which I have no doubt will be within the European Union.

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