Fiona O'Loughlin (Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I thank Leas-Chathaoirleach for giving me my full title. I thank the Minister, Deputy Coveney, for being here to listen to our concerns. We are talking about two men here. Putin is a bully, a thug and a warmonger. At the other extreme is President Zelenskiy, who spoke so movingly to the European Parliament today.He made it very clear in a heart-rending speech that today will be many people's last day on this Earth in their homeland and country. That is a very true and striking statement that cuts to the heart of this. He has demonstrated incredible leadership to his people and bonded people like never before. We can clearly see people trying to escape from their homeland but we saw equally heartbreaking scenes from Dublin Airport as young Ukrainian men leave our country, where they found a safe haven, to go back and fight for their homeland.

We have been witnessing the scenes in Ukraine unfolding on our television screens, newspapers and our phones and they are absolutely heartbreaking. There is no doubt we cannot stand by idly and, to be fair, we have not. Everything that can be done has been done to build bridges with Russia and it is clear diplomatic actions have absolutely failed. That is very regrettable. The actions by Putin and his tyrannical cronies must be called out for what they are, which are breaches of international law. If this morning's reports of the cluster bombing are accurate - I have no doubt they are - there is absolutely no doubt that war crimes are being committed. We all thought the days of war and warmongering were behind us.

I agree with previous speakers' comments about our precious neutrality, which is important to us. We are at the heart of one of the world's most successful peace organisations in the European Union and as a nation and people, we know the strife of conflict. We know the results and heartbreak caused for generations afterwards. We have experience of conflict on our island and we want and need to see every measure being taken to support peace and the rule of law. There is no doubt that Europe will be fundamentally weakened if we do not stand up for our core beliefs in democracy, the rule of law and human rights. We must be definite and definitive in our actions.

Last Friday, on behalf of the Irish delegation to the Council of Europe, we had a very long meeting with our ambassadors on the question of suspending Russia's membership of the Council of Europe. It was unanimously voted through. I am really proud to see my colleague, Mr. Billy Kelleher, MEP, taking such a strong stance in the European Parliament, calling out the Russians and supporting Ukraine. I am proud of the response of our Government in waiving visa requirements and offering Ukrainian people refuge in our country.

I have had a number of conversations with different people on different sides of this. Today, I met Mr. Anton Krasun, a Ukrainian man who has lived happily here with his wife for over 12 years. His family was caught in the crossfire, and his 73-year-old father and his mother had to flee, mainly by foot, to Poland. We are thankful they arrived here safely on Sunday.

I met Olyesya on Monday when I had a special afternoon just for the Ukrainian community in Newbridge to see how we could help them. Olyesya's mother does not want to leave her country, which I understand, and her twin sister was torn between leaving her mother and husband and bringing her two children here. I am thankful that they have a flight booked for Thursday to come here and stay with their family.

I had conversations with Zenya, a member of parliament in Ukraine, who has sent me videos from the bunkers where she is. Her husband is away fighting and she has not seen him in six days but she knows he is okay.

I think of a conversation with Vladimir, a Russian member of the opposition. I met him in Strasbourg in late January, when he told me his wife and children had to move to America because they were not safe. His life was also in danger. I have reached out to him several times over the past week but I have not had any contact; I hope he is okay because I am very concerned about the good Russian people who are against this invasion.

I welcome the application by President Zelenskiy for immediate membership of the European Union and fully support it in that regard. We must stand in unison and shoulder to shoulder with Ukraine. We must offer every protection available under international law to the country and President Zelenskiy.