Micheál Martin (Cork South Central, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I am unclear as to what the Deputy means about the Oireachtas committee. Is he saying that members are speaking more outside of the committee as opposed to speaking in it? I thought the debate in the committee during the week was reasonably constructive. There was no outcry, as such, within the committee anyway, but there was a conversation and people had different perspectives.

What we are doing here is very simple. I put it back to the Deputy in the sense of asking him if he thinks the House believes that Russia should have a power over Ireland's participation in any future peacekeeping missions. It is very simple. Does he think Russia should have that power of veto? Should the US have that power of veto? Should China have that power of veto? Anybody who has observed the workings of the Security Council over the past decade can see the utilisation of the veto has grown and that many of the permanent members of the Security Council have a particular focus on their own geopolitical ambitions. We can look at the use of the Wagner Group, for example, in parts of the Sahel and other areas. It is very clear that Russia would prefer the Wagner organisation to be in certain locations to a UN force. These are the realities of the modern world. We just want to be independent, but with the Dáil and within the framework of the UN Charter.

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