Alice-Mary Higgins (Independent) | Oireachtas source

As someone who has had the honour of being on the walls of the National Gallery of Ireland as part of a temporary exhibition and as somebody who cares a lot about procurement, I join Senator Warfield in pointing out that there are other options. There is space within procurement law. It is not the case that EU procurement law requires us to give contracts to all. We can, in fact, include human rights and other criteria and that should have been done in respect of the National Gallery of Ireland.

I also join Senator Moynihan in highlighting the issue of refugees. I call for a debate with the Minister for Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth, Deputy O'Gorman, or the Minister for Justice, Deputy McEntee, on the need to ensure that refugees, and human rights defenders in particular, who may not be Ukrainian nationals but who are resident in Ukraine are able to access safety. Today we will be debating a motion on Ukraine and I was very happy to add the names of the Civil Engagement group to the list of supporters of that motion. The motion condemns the military aggression and invasion of Ukraine by Russia and calls for proper action in line with the UN Charter. It was easy to support it because the language in the motion from the Government, and I commend the Minister for this, is very careful and thoughtful. Unfortunately, the motion debated in the European Parliament muddied the line between the EU and NATO and had some opportunistic inclusions of LNG and so on. That was unfortunate. I understand that most people voted with the motion anyway but it was unfortunate that those elements were included in a motion that needed to strongly focus on international human rights law and actions.

When the debate finished yesterday I had started talking about peace. What we need to put on the record is that peace activists are some of the bravest people on this planet. The children we saw in Russia who have been arrested for marching for peace, with flowers, are incredibly brave and need to marked. Those who have come out and pressed for peace in other countries around the world must be lauded. I lived in New York and I think of those I saw, a week after their city was bombed, marching against war. I think of those in the cluster munitions coalition who came here when negotiations were taking place in Dublin. These people lost limbs to cluster munitions but helped to negotiate a global ban on cluster bombs with the countries that had bombed them. That is incredible and important work.

Somebody who must be commended in this regard is former Senator and now MEP Grace O’Sullivan. She is probably one of the only people who has passed through this House who has not only boarded a hostile warship but done so unarmed and with a message of peace. That work, that drive towards disarmament and the push for peace, is incredibly important. That is why I am supporting the aforementioned motion and why I supported sanctions.

I would like to see stronger measures with regard to Russian assets in the IFSC. We support every diplomatic measure that can be taken but it is really important to recognise that the voice for peace, on an ongoing basis, is a vital contribution to humanity and to our ultimate future. That is what the UN Charter commits to, trying to move away from the scourge of war. We should remember that and cherish it in every way, as we act in solidarity with Ukraine and condemn Russia.