Simon Harris (Wicklow, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

First, I sincerely welcome that everybody in this House who has spoken clearly condemns the horrific actions of Putin. I accept that, I acknowledge it and it is important that we say it, particularly after the horror of the children's hospital. I do want to acknowledge that.

To be clear, I do not expect the Deputy to follow what I say at these summits, but I did very clearly say in my contribution on behalf of Ireland that I felt we could not sit at a peace summit at which Israel was present and ignore the humanitarian catastrophe that is unfolding in the Middle East. I called it out and I think Norway also called it out, but many others did not. I found it ironic that Israel was present at the peace summit and I did call it out. There is a real challenge here. I have said at the European Council - others have said it too, but not that many - that we need a consistency of approach. This country often gets defined as pro-Palestinian or pro-something else. We can all have different perspectives but, fundamentally, our foreign policy is grounded in being pro-international law and pro-human rights, and a child is a child is a child. Whether it is a child who is brutally murdered in the Middle East, in Gaza or a child in a hospital in Ukraine, this country should always call that out.

The Deputy is right that some countries may not have been at the peace summit for different reasons, including alliances with Russia. Let us park that. There are other countries in other parts of the world outside “the West”, if you want to call it that, that do challenge us on the inconsistent approach to different conflicts. There cannot be a hierarchy when it comes to international law or human rights. I agree that the inconsistent approach that is being adopted by some countries and the European Union as a whole to the conflict and the war in the Middle East versus the brutal, illegal invasion of Ukraine is possibly hampering a consistent global approach being taken. I have no difficulty in saying that because I believe it to be true.

In relation to the concrete actions we are taking, in my conversations with President Zelenskyy, of which I have had a few at this stage, he has asked that we continue to reach out to countries where Ireland has a traditional track record of support via development aid and others to ask those countries to come to the table. I heard the commentary Deputy Paul Murphy read out and I have heard other commentary to the same degree. You can either adopt a glass-half-full or glass-half-empty approach to the peace summit in Switzerland. I believe there is value in it in the sense that it was the largest gathering of countries, leaders and international organisations since the conflict and Putin's illegal invasion began. In that sense, that in and of itself it had value. A lot of work was done in the breakout sessions, including, as I referenced in my opening statement, work on humanitarian aid, abducted children, food supply and food security that helps or, at least, that we must work on in the here and now.

By the way, I believe there was a broad consensus in relation to principles for peace that need to respect the UN Charter, territorial integrity and sovereignty, and that is important. I believe, however, that the next peace summit, and I hope there will be another one, must seek to bring more people to the table. That is a role that Ireland will continue to endeavour to play. Of course, from the point of view of concrete initiatives, we continue to assist Ukraine, not just from a humanitarian perspective or by welcoming people from Ukraine who are here seeking refuge, but also by demining and through the work of the ESB, which has helped. One of the big concerns that Ukraine has right now is energy and keeping the lights on, because Putin is particularly targeting energy supply. We are also trying to assist with issues of cybersecurity.

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