Paul Murphy (Dublin South West, RISE) | Oireachtas source

The purpose of this motion is to strengthen sanctions against Russia and we are opposed to it for that reason because we are against sanctions on Russia. It is not because People Before Profit or the genuine socialist left is in any way soft on Putin, his gangster regime or his crimes being committed against Ukrainian people. In fact, we are the people who have been consistent on this. When Chechens were being massacred and Grozny was being razed, it was the socialist left that spoke out against it while British Prime Minister Tony Blair welcomed Putin with a red carpet and our former Taoiseach, Mr. Bertie Ahern, shook his hand. At the start of this year, who spoke out about Russian forces in Kazakhstan, there to intimidate a workers' uprising? It was the socialist left and there was nothing from the Government on that.

Who was on the streets today in Russia protesting against the war? To quote one of Putin's allies in the Duma, he described anti-war protestors as "leftist and Trotskyist scum". In other words, they are the comrades of the socialist left. Of course, there are much more than just those from the organised left on the streets. We have been consistent in defending the democratic rights of ordinary people in Russia and opposing the disgusting and dictatorial regime of Putin. We have also been consistent in condemning and opposing the imperialist invasion by Russia of Ukraine and standing on the side of the Ukrainian people.

We do not close our eyes to the expansionism of NATO or the 800 km eastward expansion since the collapse of the Berlin wall. We do not close our eyes to the fact that the number of troops under direct NATO control in eastern Europe has gone from 4,000 in October last year to more than 40,000 now. We do not close our eyes to the tens of billions of dollars being poured in now not to protect the interests of ordinary Ukrainians but the interest of western capital.

The truth is that sanctions are an instrument, to quote the French finance minister, of total economic and financial war. The people who are hurt by sanctions are not Putin or the coterie of oligarchs around him but ordinary people. It is estimated that the poverty rate in Russia is doubling or trebling as a consequence of this action. These are not the people responsible for the war and they have had no act or part in the war but they are being punished. It is people in this country who are being punished through the cost-of-living crisis we are suffering, partly as a consequence of these sanctions.

We have now had these unprecedented sanctions for months but have they worked? There are polls from independent polling companies in Russia such as Levada, which has been declared a foreign agent in Russia. A report from that company indicates the confrontation with the West has "consolidated" people and those people believe "everyone is against" them. They say Putin defends them, believing "otherwise we would be eaten alive". Putin's ratings have increased but why? He is able to use the sanctions to say the world is against the Russians. He argues the anti-war protestors in Russia, with whom we stand, are fifth column agents of the West and so on. Even in their own terms, the sanctions have not been successful.

Why do we not do things that would make a difference for Ukrainian people? We could increase the amount of humanitarian aid and lead the way in calling for the dropping of Ukrainian debt, which will take up 12% of total state expenditure. The Government has never committed to that. Why do we not shut down the shadow banking system used by the Russian and American oligarchs, among others, in this country and hit them where it hurts?

Right now the Taoiseach is on the way or is in Madrid at a NATO conference to attend a dinner. What on Earth is the Taoiseach of a supposedly neutral country doing attending a NATO conference? The truth is the Irish establishment is looking to use this conflict to sidle Ireland up even closer to NATO and undermine what is left of neutrality.

If people want to see the reality of what is NATO, they should look at the trilateral memorandum signed by Turkey, Sweden and Finland yesterday as the price of entry. Those countries must get rid of an arms embargo against Turkey and, already, they are handing over ten Kurdish activists today to the Turkish authorities. They may well be tortured and they will be imprisoned without trial, probably for a very long time. They must agree not to give any support whatever to the YPG, the heroic women fighters who fought against Islamic State. That is the price of entry to NATO, and it should tell us something. NATO is not a force for democracy, human rights or good in the world. It is a force for people like Turkish President Erdoğan, another authoritarian ruler. It is a force in the interests of US imperialism in particular.

See this speech in context