Paul McAuliffe (Dublin North West, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

Like many Irish people, I have looked at the devastation in Mariupol and - let us call it for what it is - the war crimes that are being committed there. I have seen the real fear and anxiety in Kyiv and in each European Union country that borders Russia. It is very hard to be neutral when we look at the pictures each night or talk to people in any of those places. It is very hard to have no feelings on what Putin is doing or a neutral view of what he is doing to the people of Ukraine.

I mention that because in the context of this debate the European Council meeting is an opportunity for us to restate our solidarity with the people of Ukraine and our commitment to them in the face of the utterly unacceptable infringement of their sovereign territory. How can Ireland help in that context and in the context of us being neutral and having a long tradition of military neutrality? We know that even in the case of war on this island it was only solved by talking and us coming to an agreement. There will ultimately have to be an agreement between Russia and Ukraine. A further escalation of the conflict is not needed and should not be encouraged.

How does Ireland react to the pictures and our desire to stand with Ukraine and by the same token play a part and ensure other powers do not escalate the conflict? I believe our proud tradition of humanitarian response is the best approach to take, both through Irish agencies on the ground that have a long tradition of operating in such areas, and also at home. We must consider the comments from Deputy Fitzpatrick. We must consider how the people who come to Ireland are dealt with, but in dealing with the humanitarian response we must not allow a space to develop for people on the far right or those who want to exploit racism in this country. We must also ensure we do not bypass the people who have been seeking asylum in the direct provision system. The Government has made a commitment to end the direct provision system. We cannot satisfy the need of the Ukrainian people in Ireland and bypass the people who are in direct provision. Neither can we satisfy the housing needs of the Ukrainian people and bypass the broader need for housing in this country. The answer is not to help one over the other or to turn one against the other, but to try to deal with both and to ensure that we do not have a competition for resources because that would be the ultimate breeding ground for racism. We must make sure that Ireland responds.

I reject the suggestions in the Seanad that we have changed our policy on neutrality. Even in the Second World War when we were clearly militarily neutral, the Government criticised the invasion of Belgium and Holland. Perhaps in hindsight it should have done far more than criticise an evil despot, but it did criticise the invasion of small countries such as Belgium and Holland. On this occasion we must at least do the same.

We cannot bypass the need to switch from carbon deposits. We must switch towards more renewable resources and go tapaidh, which would be much better.

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