Mick Barry (Cork North Central, Solidarity) | Oireachtas source

Why did the European Council not come out strongly in favour of the cancellation of the Ukrainian national debt? Its external debt stood at $129 billion just before the invasion. God knows what it will be when the war ends and the country has to be reconstructed. Repayments of $14 billion are due in 2022 alone. What does repayment of such a debt actually mean? Last year, when the IMF loaned $5 billion to Ukraine, it said it would be repaid "mainly through a reduction in the real value of wages and social benefits". There you have it. That is it in a nutshell. Debt repayment means the impoverishment by bankers and governments of a people who have already lost so much at the hands of Putin and his murderous crew. Why did the Council not come out in favour of debt cancellation? Will the Taoiseach come out with a clear call for cancellation here today, in this Dáil?

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