Catherine Connolly (Galway West, Independent) | Oireachtas source

I am horrified at the Tánaiste's recent comments on the use of rifles to the effect that they are non-lethal. On this grouped question, it is really difficult to keep up with what is happening and with the logic of the Government. I deplore the Russian invasion of Ukraine; let us get that out of the way. However, we are a neutral country. We should offer any humanitarian assistance we can. We are joining up more and more with a military alliance, despite what the Tánaiste tells us. The figures are absolutely horrific from what I can see. The original cost for the two-year mission to which the Tánaiste refers was about €167 million. I am not sure what we have given to that. Maybe the Tánaiste could tell us. Separate from that is the European Peace Facility, EPF. The total cost for all of that was €5.6 billion when it was set up. That has gone through the roof now and we have given €125 million to that alone. I am running out of time on this. All I can do is put on the record my horror at what is being done in our name.

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