Paul Gavan (Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

I wish to raise two issues. The first is that while many are concerned about the ongoing international difficulties and challenges concerning Russia, Ukraine and the build up of forces across the NATO region and the east, I really hope our Government is playing a constructive role in trying to de-escalate the tension. The more arms and munitions that are being ferried by both sides, the more likely it is that there will be a conflict. We have a seat at the United Nations that I really hope we are using constructively to ensure the continuation of dialogue. We all know that war would be an absolute disaster.

If we really want to respect the idea of the sovereignty of states and the view that one state should not invade another, we need to address the elephant in the room, which is that, over the past 20 years, the Departments responsible for foreign affairs and transport have approved the refuelling of an estimated 15,000 US military-associated aircraft at Shannon Airport, the transportation through it of more than 3 million armed US soldiers, and the transportation of an unknown quantity of munitions to and from illegal wars in the Middle East that have cost the lives of millions of people. Those are absolute facts. If we are serious about building a more peaceful world, we have to address what is happening in Shannon. We cannot ignore the fact that planes are taking off today with US personnel and munitions. They are not heading off on a pleasure tour of the world. We know the horrendous damage that has been done by US wars — illegal wars — across the Middle East. How many people have died? Is it 1 million at this point? We are helping to facilitate that still.