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

The Taoiseach knows that we are completely opposed to Ireland's participation in the so-called military assistance mission of the EU to train the Ukrainian army. Training one side in a military conflict is a breach of military neutrality. This is part of a drive to integrate Ireland into a process of European militarisation and align Ireland with NATO. It is a full-spectrum military training mission whose purpose, according to the European Council, is "to contribute to enhancing the military capability of Ukraine’s Armed Forces". The Taoiseach has been at pains to emphasise that the Irish Defence Forces will be involved in de-mining training. However, during questions to the Minister for Defence last week, I asked for a guarantee that the Defence Forces would only be involved in de-mining and nothing else. The Minister, Deputy Coveney, repeatedly failed to give me that guarantee, saying that the details had not been finalised. Will the Taoiseach give me a guarantee that this is all he is sending Defence Forces troops to do?

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