Thomas Byrne (Meath East, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

Nation states in Europe have only really been allowed to exist in the last number of decades, primarily through the European Union. Our European colleagues see that as under severe threat now from Russia's aggression.

The European response to date has been significant and multifaceted, encompassing political, economic, military and humanitarian support, while imposing costs on Russia for its actions. The most dreadful support we have had to give is supporting bomb shelters for children. That is support we have given and it is necessary for the people of Ukraine.

We have given support through the EU civil protection mechanism. We have given humanitarian assistance, economic support and military support as well. The EU is holding Russia to account. Seventeen successive packages of restrictive measures have been passed, the most recent one just this week. Individuals and entities numbering 2,400 are now subject to travel bans and asset freeze measures. Irish financial institutions have frozen €2 billion of funds belonging to those individuals and entities. A broad range of sectoral sanctions has been put in place. The objective of these sanctions is to impose costs on Russia and its enablers for its actions in Ukraine, while undermining its ability to fund its war and killing machine. Ireland has supported strong sanctions on Russia and will continue to do so. I encourage all parties in this House to encourage their MEPs to support the range of measures that is necessary to continue to hold Russia to account.

Ireland has benefited from the European Union's enlargement. Our 50 years of European Union membership have transformed our economy and society, amplified our global influence and protected us as a free, sovereign, independent nation. We believe all European countries deserve the same chance, provided of course they meet the necessary criteria for membership.

The people of Ukraine have proven time and again that they value the fundamental rights of freedom and democracy that the European Union has been able to guarantee for its citizens over many decades. The people of Ukraine have made clear their desire for a European future. They have shown that they are prepared to fight for this with their lives. We have a responsibility to respond to their legitimate aspirations and expectations for peace, freedom and security.

Ireland was among the first supporters of Ukraine's European path. We not only welcomed the decision in June 2022 to grant EU candidate status to Ukraine but we were one of the member states to put it forward. Since then, we have been impressed with the progress Ukraine has made in its reform efforts, while defending itself against the illegal and brutal invasion by Russia. December 2023 marked another milestone, with the decision of the European Council to open accession negotiations, which we strongly supported. This was followed by the first Intergovernmental Conference in June 2024 and I hope to sit at further Intergovernmental Conferences during the Polish Presidency. This will send another signal of hope to the people of Ukraine that their future lies in the European Union.

We will support Ukraine in its pursuit of peace and a prosperous future. Its people want the good life. They want democracy and freedom. They want what we have in the European Union. They do not want what Russia has, which is autocracy, spending 10% of GDP on the military and putting mainly men of all ages into the war machine. This has to stop.

EU enlargement has become, as the Tánaiste said, a matter of security for the people of Ukraine. It is, however, a geostrategic imperative for us in Europe as well. Russia’s expansionist ambitions and efforts to rewrite history highlight the clear need for continuing ever-closer co-operation between the EU and our partners in the western Balkans and eastern partnership regions. Our future security depends on it. Our security and that of our European partners and the European Union, which is so important to us, are also directly threatened by Russia’s actions in Ukraine. We see this in the debates and discussions across all the member states. We see a rise in hybrid and cyber incidents, both those that have been publicly declared and many that have not been publicly revealed, particularly attacks on private companies. Lots of these things are happening. These pose serious threats to our democracies, societies and economies and, indeed, to our undersea cables.

The Government is committed to broadening and deepening our international security engagement, as well as our domestic efforts to ensure the security of our country, which is a mark of an independent sovereign nation. There are no plans to alter our policy of military neutrality but I have to say it galled me to go to the UN Security Council in October 2022 to renew Operation Althea, our peacekeeping mission in Bosnia-Herzegovina, wondering until the last possible moment whether Russia would veto that particular resolution of the Security Council. We did not know until very late in the day. If Russia had vetoed it - and it did question it - with me, as Minister of State, supplicating myself at the UN Security Council, we were gone. No matter what this Dáil or the Irish people said or what we all say about how proud we are of our UN peacekeepers abroad, if Russia had used a veto that day or were to do so on any day that operation is to be renewed, our troops would have to go home. That is the law of the land. That is what we want to change. We want to assert our sovereignty in this Parliament and our policy of military neutrality and to continue our proud tradition of our soldiers, the peacekeepers who have gone all around the world and sacrificed so much, including some of their lives, for peace in other countries. It is incumbent on us to take our security and our responsibility to like-minded partners more seriously than ever. The Government is committed to doing this.

Three years ago, the Russians and many other people thought that Kyiv would be captured in three days. It was not. Russia underestimated the strength and resolve of the people Ambassador Gerasko represents. Russia underestimated the unity and determination of the free peoples of the European Union and our partners. We will stand with our European partners. We will support Ukraine. It is the right thing to do because our European future depends on it.

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