Marc Ó Cathasaigh (Waterford, Green Party) | Oireachtas source

I thank the Taoiseach for his comprehensive update on what was discussed at the European Council. None of us is surprised that the Russian aggression in Ukraine and the resulting outcomes dominated much of the meeting. It is striking to hear the language used and reiterated by the Taoiseach in describing some of the Russian actions as war crimes. That is not a term to be used lightly but it is an assessment with which I fully agree. It is good that international organisations are being tasked with getting to the bottom of that.

Deputy Brady referred to the artillery war that is being waged in Ukraine but, of course, it is much more and much broader than that. We are seeing the weaponisation of human misery. We are seeing that directly expressed in Ukraine with the indiscriminate targeting of civilian populations, as the Taoiseach said, and places that had absolutely no military or strategic outcome whatsoever. That approach saw sickening expression in the forced relocation of Ukrainian children across the border into Russia. The Taoiseach spoke more widely about the impact of that on the childhood of a generation of children. We see it in our own country but the most egregious possible example is forced relocation.

In Europe, we are seeing human relocation and displacement being weaponised. We are also seeing the weaponisation of energy and its costs. Putin knows that is going to create energy poverty in communities. It is going to foment dissent and create dissatisfaction. It is all aimed at undermining the solidarity of the European effort. Deputy Brady asked what the Government was doing to communicate the impact of the energy crisis. It is not the Government alone that bears that responsibility.

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