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

Is dochreidte an méid atá ag tarlú san Úcráin. Is uafásach an scéal é gan amhras. Is ionsaí mídhleathach gan réasún atá faoi chaibidil ag an Rúis. Is olc an scéal ar fad é agus tá muintir na tíre seo go hiomlán i gcoinne an ionsaithe seo.

We are less than a week into this horrific war against the Ukrainian people and I think President Putin has not achieved the rapid victory over them that he anticipated. More importantly, what is very clear from the resistance of the Ukrainian people is "how dare they value their freedom, their sovereignty, their territorial integrity?" There is not a scintilla of evidence that there is any response from Ukrainian citizens that embraces the Russian invasion as President Putin would have advocated with his troops and so forth.

The courage and resilience of the Ukrainian people is resonating across the globe. I spoke last evening to the Ukrainian Prime Minister, Mr. Denys Shmyhal. He thanked Ireland for our support - our political support, our economic support, our humanitarian support - along with our European Union colleagues. He said that the situation was extremely difficult on the ground in terms of the indiscriminate killing of children and women. It is shocking what is going on with the levelling of cities. It is very clear now that President Putin is moving into a new phase where we are witnessing extreme forms of barbarity in terms of barbaric attacks on cities and civilian targets and in levelling cities. It is quite horrific and an extraordinary trauma is now being visited upon the people of Ukraine, and we have to do everything we possibly can to support them. For example, cluster munitions - this is something that we as a country took a leading role in by creating an international treaty to ban the use of cluster munitions in conflicts - are being used in Ukraine.

It is estimated that approximately 700,000 people have already left Ukraine and the numbers could grow dramatically and very significantly. We should expect those numbers to increase. That will create huge challenges across the European Continent because the repercussions of this war, which is being waged by Putin, are going to be felt across the length and breadth of our Continent. The human trauma will be enormous. I am working on the basis that that trauma will be on a scale that we have never experienced before. We as a country now have to get our heads around that and start preparing the humanitarian responses that will potentially be required to deal with the scale of migration caused by the war itself, but I think that the Irish people will do the right thing. We will not be found wanting in relation to our humanitarian response.

In relation to diplomacy, we are absolutely working with our European Union colleagues in respect of that, and first of all in terms of seeking a peaceful resolution of the issues. To be fair to all the European leaders, particularly the French Presidency, Emmanuel Macron did everything he possibly could to avert this war, and Chancellor Scholz likewise. I met Chancellor Scholz last week in respect of his engagements with President Putin and his endeavours to resolve this.

In terms of diplomatic channels and expulsions, that is the easy bit. It is our view that, across Europe, we work in concert with our European Union colleagues. I have been absolutely passionate about this, in that our unity is our strength. It is easy to say "I will lead ahead of others." I actually think that the most effective route-----

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