John Brady (Wicklow, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

Today we are forced to watch on at the Russian attempt to grind the sovereign State of Ukraine into submission. The unspeakable horrors being experienced by the Ukrainian people have shaken the global community to the core. The ongoing tragedy for Ukraine is that, as the Russian strategy becomes clearer and its depravity more apparent, Mariupol will not be the only city that will come under this onslaught. Its name now sits along with Guernica, Dresden and countless other sites of suffering in modern consciousness as a testimony to the consequences of the deliberate targeting of civilian populations in war. There is good reason to believe that these crimes will form part of the International Criminal Court’s investigation into Russia’s criminal aggression against Ukraine. The ending of this senseless war must be the foremost priority for Ireland, the EU and the international community. While we continue to support the Ukrainian people in their resistance to the Russian invasion, every possible effort must be made to end the violence. While negotiations to date have achieved nothing of note, at some stage Vladimir Putin must understand that he has to engage in a real dialogue with President Zelenskiy.

I have some concerns regarding announcements over the last few days surrounding the EU strategic compass, following which the Minister for Foreign Affairs and Defence, Deputy Coveney, indicated that Ireland may well play a significant role in the EU rapid reaction force. While others have spoken of the need for a conversation to take place about Irish neutrality, I believe in the centrality of neutrality to Irish foreign policy, in its contribution to our sense of identity as a nation and in how it has allowed us, as a small country, to make a major impact in peacekeeping and humanitarian efforts across the world.

Last week, the Committee on European Union Affairs hosted the Ambassador of Moldova, among other ambassadors. Moldova is a very poor country and its ambassador appealed for greater assistance from the international community and from the EU to deal with the large influx of Ukrainian refugees there. I welcome the fact that Ireland has agreed to take in 500 refugees from Moldova but more needs to be done to lift the burden on Moldova, which is experiencing massive difficulties and challenges in trying to deal with the influx. This war has the potential to spread internationally because many countries in Africa are at risk of famine due to their heavy reliance on wheat and other goods coming from Russia and Ukraine. There are serious challenges for us in Ireland and across the EU but we also need to look at the rest of the world, including Africa.

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