Cormac Devlin (Dún Laoghaire, Fianna Fail)

I welcome the opportunity to contribute to these statements on Ukraine as we approach the fourth winter since Russia launched its full-scale illegal invasion. I again acknowledge the Ukrainian ambassador, H. E. Larysa Gerasko, and community representatives, who are very engaged with all of us in the House. I put on record our solidarity with them, rooted in the principles of the UN Charter and in our own history as a small State whose independence was hard won. In this Chamber in February, I said there can be no agreement on Ukraine without Ukraine. This principle is even more important today. Any peace must be just and sustainable, and must uphold Ukraine's sovereignty, independence and territorial integrity within internationally recognised borders.

In August 2022, I travelled to Kyiv as part of a parliamentary delegation from across Europe.

I saw ruined homes, schools, crèches, community centres and businesses that had been deliberately targeted by Russian forces. Since then, missiles and drones have continued to strike apartment blocks, energy networks and water systems, designed to break civilian morale and to weaponise winter. Against that brutality, what has struck me most in my dealings with Ukrainians, be it in Kyiv, my own constituency of Dún Laoghaire or here in Leinster House, is their resilience and their gratitude to Ireland. Earlier this year at a rally for Ukraine in Dublin, the chant of “Thank you, Ireland. Thank you, Ireland” rang out again and again. That is a message to every household that has opened its doors, to every school that has taken in Ukrainian children and to every community that has made space for new neighbours.

I also acknowledge the work of colleagues beyond this House. Dublin MEP Barry Andrews was in Ukraine this week, seeing the situation on the ground and reinforcing Ireland’s position at a European level. His visit underlines that this is a cross-party, all-institution effort to keep Ukraine high on the agenda when other crises risk crowding it out. Russia’s war is not just an attack on Ukraine. It is a direct challenge to European security and to the rules-based international order. We have seen drones and missiles crossing into the airspace of EU and NATO states and hybrid attacks on critical infrastructure here and elsewhere. If we allow this to succeed, we send a message that borders can be changed by brute force and that smaller states are fair game. That is why Ireland’s role, though militarily non-aligned, is not as a bystander. We are firmly on the side of international law.

We are contributing to Ukraine’s defence in a way that is consistent with our traditional policy of military neutrality - through non-lethal military assistance, humanitarian and development funding and training initiatives that help Ukraine to clear mines, protect civilians and keep basic services running. We have supported practical measures, such as bomb shelters for schools, so that education can continue under the threat of air raids. This is done in partnership with Lithuania. As a country that has benefited enormously from EU membership, we strongly support Ukraine’s path to the European Union and we want to see accession negotiations unblocked and accelerated.

EU membership must form part of a broader set of security guarantees for Ukraine, alongside military, economic and political support. Russia cannot be allowed a veto over Ukraine’s European future. A critical question for Europe now is how we finance Ukraine’s long-term reconstruction and security needs. The European Union is examining how the profits and cash balances from immobilised Russian sovereign assets can be used to back a substantial reparation loan for Ukraine, alongside grants and other instruments. This principle is simple: Russia should pay for the destruction it has caused. Ireland has already committed significant humanitarian, development and non-lethal military support and our institutions have frozen large sums linked to the Russian regime under the EU’s sanctions regime.

Finally, I welcome the intention of President Zelenskyy to visit the Oireachtas in December. That visit will be an important moment to reaffirm Ireland’s support, to hear directly from Ukraine's leadership about their needs and to demonstrate that the Oireachtas and the Irish people continue to stand with the people of Ukraine in their time of crisis. Our message should be clear and united that there can be no lasting peace built on fear, occupation or eroded rights. Peace will come when Russia ends its aggression and when Ukraine can live in security as a free European democracy, within the family of nations and, we hope, within the European Union.

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