Aodhán Ó Ríordáin (Dublin Bay North, Labour) | Oireachtas source

I appreciate the Ceann Comhairle's indulgence. Many of us were attending a meeting of the Joint Committee on Justice when we realised we were running late for the debate.

We regret the fact the debate is being slightly rushed. It is an especially important debate given that at the heart of what we are discussing in the context of the motion, which the Labour Party supports, is the very nature of the EU. It is central to many of the debates that have been happening in this country over recent years, not least relating to the Ukrainian war and the EU's response to it, which is the central point of this motion, but also to the very basis of the EU, a debate with which we in Ireland have been struggling because of Brexit, as well as to our defence of being a member of the EU, how the EU has assisted us as a member state and how the EU has been the greatest peace project in post-Second World War Europe. It is part of that understanding of our place in the world and in the EU that we have an historical and moral obligation to accept those fleeing that conflict into this country, as has been mentioned.

It is incredibly hypocritical and quite nauseating to hear voices in Ireland and even in this Chamber who would second-guess the intentions of those who come into this country. There are estimates of up to 55,000 Irish people living illegally in the United States, so it is remarkable how we change the language we use when we describe the Irish in the US as undocumented but those who come here seeking protection as somehow illegal. We need to check ourselves a little in respect of our hypocrisy regarding our own history of travelling all over the world by different means, often without the correct documentation. We overstayed our welcome and that is why there are Irish names all over the place, in every jurisdiction and all over the world. We need to remind ourselves of that.

In November 2021, before the invasion, Deputy Howlin of the Labour Party brought forward the Magnitsky Bill, which would have a major impact in freezing the assets of Russian war criminals. That is something the Government should have taken on board much more speedily. It has been on the Order Paper of this House since November 2021 and we feel strongly that the Government should move on it.

As was mentioned by other Deputies, the EU has stature and an ethical backbone only when it deals with all international conflicts in a similar manner. It is hypocritical not only for Irish people to question those coming here but also for the EU to bring forward sanctions against Russia without having a similar perspective on conflicts such as that waged by Israel on the Palestinian people. I grew up in Ireland during the South African apartheid regime and we were united, as a country and in the international community, regarding what had to be done about South Africa. It was frozen out of cultural and sporting exchanges and there were heavy sanctions, as advocated by Desmond Tutu and others. Apartheid was finally done away with and freedom reigned in South Africa. That will happen in Israel only when that country no longer feels it has friends in the EU and the United States, and there is an ethical absence there. There is a massive contradiction between how we are, justifiably, dealing with the Russian scenario and how we are allowing an apartheid regime to reign uninhibited in Israel, which is quite happy to see men, women, children and journalists die. It behaves in a manner that is absolutely consistent with what happened in South Africa before the 1990s.

While we will support the motion, we feel that the EU, of which we are a proud member, needs to deal with other international conflicts in a similar vein to how it deals with that in Ukraine. If we were to exert that power in respect of what is happening in Israel and Palestine, we might get successes and our international reputation would be greatly enhanced.

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