Brendan Howlin (Wexford, Labour) | Oireachtas source

All European debate is still dominated by the ongoing invasion of Ukraine by the Russian Federation. It remains critical that Russia is called out at every international forum, whether a meeting of the EU Council, the Inter-Parliamentary Union, which recently met in Kigali and brought together parliamentarians from every nation, or the G20. Russia must be isolated as the sole aggressor responsible for the untold hardship being endured by the people of Ukraine and by the entire world in terms of food shortages, fuel poverty and the massive inflation that is impacting citizens here and across the globe. The indiscriminate missile attacks on Ukraine's infrastructure, designed to bludgeon the Ukrainian people into submission, are quite unconscionable. They are pushing our Continent and the world closer to a full-scale war beyond the borders of Ukraine.

What happened yesterday evening in Poland should send shock waves through all of us and every nation. A miscalculation, mistake or malfunction can easily set in train unimaginable consequences. That is the position we are in.

The liberation of parts of Donetsk have revealed many more potential Russian war crimes and crimes against humanity. This is unprecedented in Europe, our Continent, since the end of the Second World War. I also want to mention the sanctioning of 52 Irish politicians that was announced yesterday. Our Taoiseach, most of the Cabinet, many of us on these benches and our speaker, our Ceann Comhairle, are not welcome in Russia. They are banned from Russia. How can we have an ambassador down the road who tells the elected representatives of the Irish people they are not welcome? What is the response to that? We must have a robust and clear response because that is an assault on our democratic right to function as the voice and parliament of the people of Ireland.

One of the clear impacts of Russian aggression has been and remains the energy crisis. Irish citizens, like all others, are struggling to ensure their homes are heated and energy bills can be afforded in the coming months as the temperature plummets. While I welcome the actions of the Government to date in seeking to mitigate the increased cost of fuel and everything else and to support struggling households and businesses, more will have to be done. That is for another debate. It is important that a greatly accelerated plan of action on a pan-European level must be implemented to address security and affordability in the supply of energy and a speedy agreement on a windfall tax on those companies, those large corporate entities, who have seen huge profit increases on the basis of an international crisis.

There are many issues demanding attention at European Council level. I give out on every occasion. These debates are intended to report back from European Council meetings and five-minute time limits for Members are ludicrously small. I will raise one issue of real importance. There are many other issues, as I said, demanding attention, and humanitarian catastrophes can slip down the agenda and not receive the focus they deserve. I raise the issue of Somalia, which today is experiencing yet another devastating humanitarian crisis. Millions of people are in danger of starvation and death. The Somali refugee crisis is one of the most significant mass displacements in the world. Drought in the Horn of Africa, the impact of climate change, has made a disastrous situation even worse. Its neighbouring countries, Kenya and Ethiopia, have endured an incredible change in climate that is causing food cost inflation that is disastrous. I ask the Minister of State to ensure these important issues are also kept in focus as millions of people struggle to exist.

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