Seán Haughey (Dublin Bay North, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

Putin's brutal war on the people of Ukraine continues relentlessly. His actions in recent weeks show that he is losing this war and the survival of his regime in Russia is now being questioned. As we know, he has formally annexed four Ukrainian territories, Donetsk, Luhansk, Kherson and Zaporizhzhia. These areas constitute 15% of Ukrainian sovereign territory. The annexation came about following sham referendums. This is an illegal land grab which has no basis in international law. Ireland, the EU and democracies of the international community will not recognise these Russian claims. The fighting back and the counteroffensive by Ukrainian forces to take back control of these areas is extraordinary. We are in awe of their exceptional bravery. Some 300,000 reservists have been mobilised in Russia. By all accounts, this move has been extremely unpopular with the Russian population. Putin's threat to use nuclear weapons is chilling. This threat has rightly been condemned by Ireland, the EU and much of the international community.

In recent days, Russia has bombarded many Ukrainian cities, including Kyiv, with missiles, rockets and drone strikes. Power plants are also being knocked out. Civilian targets, including apartment buildings, have been singled out. There have been many deaths. Some of these strikes took place during the morning rush hour, thus causing the maximum possible casualties. These activities surely constitute war crimes. They must be investigated by the International Criminal Court. There are also suggestions that the killer drones may have been manufactured in Iran. If this is the case, the EU must consider imposing even tougher sanctions on that country. If I have time, I will come back to the situation in Iran and recent events there.

I welcome the agreement reached by the EU on the eighth sanctions package. I was pleased to see that Ireland, with others, was to the forefront in calling for these sanctions. I note that EU foreign ministers, at their meeting in Luxembourg this week, agreed to send a two-year training mission for the Ukrainian Armed Forces, starting next month. It will involve 15,000 Ukrainian troops. This is an initiative under the EU's Common Security and Defence Policy. Our Minister said that Ireland is agreeable to participating in this mission, given our skills in demining and dealing with improvised explosive devices. The Irish response in this regard is reasonable, given the circumstances, but I suggest that the Dáil should be kept fully involved about this matter as the situation evolves.

Turning to the price of energy, we are all too well aware that wholesale energy prices have risen rapidly since the Russian invasion of Ukraine. This is causing real hardship for householders and businesses. Under European treaties, energy policy is a shared responsibility between EU member states. The member states are free to decide on their own energy mix. However, they are all subject to common energy market rules. So far, the EU has agreed to a new regulation on gas storage. The options for Ireland in that regard need to be finalised so that we can have gas storage in due course. A new regulation has an objective of reducing the demand for gas. There is a new regulation to deal with high energy prices. As part of this, there will be a revenue cap for electricity producers with lower costs and a once-off windfall tax on excess profits in the energy sector. These measures are welcome, given the complexity of the issue.

Commissioner Kadri Simson will announce new proposals in respect of energy supply this week with a view to getting agreement of energy ministers when they meet on 25 October. These measures include a new pricing benchmark to limit prices, a 15% cut in energy use which will be mandatory, the sharing of energy capacity through solidarity mechanisms and joint procurement of energy. There is also talk of a longer-term reform of the energy market. These new initiatives are all welcome. They tie in with the goals of the European green deal and the objective of transitioning to net zero emissions by 2050.

Of particular interest to Ireland is the aim to develop Europe's offshore wind energy.

Ireland is one of the most fossil fuel reliant countries in Europe. It is reported that we spend €1 million every hour on imports of fossil fuels. We have a great deal of work to do to develop offshore wind energy in Ireland and we need to get moving in this regard. It is clear that this energy crisis will extend into next winter too. We need to be fully prepared for this. I await developments at EU level concerning these matters. I take a keen interest in how Ireland intends to implement these proposals in the weeks and months ahead.

It is worth highlighting that the first meeting of the European Political Community took place in Prague earlier this month. This was an initiative of the French President, Emmanuel Macron. The meeting was attended by 44 European nation-states, including Ireland. The British Prime Minister, Liz Truss, also attended, thus giving the UK a chance to show solidarity with fellow European countries. The European Political Community is a welcome initiative. It is worth enhancing and developing this forum into the future. No doubt it came about as a result of the Russian invasion of Ukraine and, in particular, the need for democracies to come together and stand up to the threat posed by autocracies. It also gives encouragement to applicants for full EU membership and demonstrates solidarity with them, which is a good thing.

In the state of the Union address given by the President of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, last month, she outlined the Commission’s priorities for the coming year. Her primary objective can be summarised as the goal of building up the EU’s autonomy and self-reliance and of creating a strong alliance of democracies to confront the global threat of autocracy. I look forward to seeing the details of the proposed defence of democracy initiative in the coming weeks.

There is a great deal happening in regard to the EU and this European Council meeting. I look forward to addressing the outcome of this meeting in due course - presumably next week - and to discussing the joint communiqué which will issue from the European Council.

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