Brendan Howlin (Wexford, Labour) | Oireachtas source

I support this motion on behalf of the Labour Party. Russia's action in Ukraine is not just a gross violation of human rights but also an ongoing assault on the territory and people of Ukraine. It is also much more than that. It threatens the peace and stability of our Continent and, ultimately, all of our well-being. We are focused on human rights violations across the globe, but there is no particular violator right now that threatens our security, peace and prosperity in this nation as directly as Putin and his incredible, illegal, immoral and unacceptable assault on the people of Ukraine.

We are required to take robust action. We are a neutral nation that is not part of any military alliance. In fact, we do not have any great military capacity, as our debates on our own requirements in the recent analysis shows. Therefore, there is almost a greater responsibility on us to act in a robust way with regard to taking economic sanctions against Russia and in terms of our humanitarian response in welcoming Ukrainians fleeing from the horrors of war to our land. That is why the adding of violation of EU sanctions to the list of EU crimes that includes terrorism, trafficking in human beings and sexual exploitation of women and children, illicit drug and arms trafficking, money laundering, corruption, counterfeiting, computer crime, organised crime, hate crime and hate speech, is a positive and important measure.

I will use the very short time I have in speaking to this motion to speak to a Bill in my name that we debated at the Committee on Justice last week, namely, the Proceeds of Crime (Gross Human Rights Abuses) Bill 2020. The committee has given it the green light and waived pre-legislative scrutiny. The committee wants the Bill to advance, but it cannot advance unless it gets a money message from the Government. Will the Minister of State go back to his colleagues in Government and allow that measure, which goes well beyond the list of sanctions in that it would be a permanent feature of our law that gross violators of human rights, anywhere in the world, could not stash their ill-gotten gains with impunity in this country? That is a very important principal.

The Government has argued that the Bill would be impractical or difficult to implement. That is not a reason for not enacting it. We had early debates on the Criminal Assets Bureau and we often have a debate with regard to our robust legislation with regard to domestic violence. All of these matters are difficult to prosecute, but that should not stop us from effectively establishing a law. I am sorry the Minister has had to leave when she was here for the previous debate, but I ask the Minister of State to ensure a money message is received and that we can have a complete debate on the Proceeds of Crime (Gross Human Rights Abuses) Bill 2020. I and, I am sure, the committee would be delighted to support any amendments the Government sees fit, to change the terminology or to strengthen it in any way.

It is important for the reasons that have already been instanced. We are now a financial hub in which there is lots of money. I see that two of the bonds that were defaulted upon by Russia yesterday were initiated in Dublin. We are a financial hub. We need to be very clear that we do not welcome, will not tolerate and have robust legislation to ensure against our being a conduit for money generated by gross human rights abuses and be very clear that we will take a very firm stand, including to the point of seizure of those assets, where we can prove they are related to the abuse of human rights anywhere on the planet.

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