Mary Seery Kearney (Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I move:

That Seanad Éireann:

acknowledges that:

- the invasion by Russia of Ukraine’s sovereign territory, and the attack on its people, is an outrageous and immoral breach of the most fundamental and basic principles of international law;

- the United Nations (UN) Charter requires all countries to refrain from the threat or use of force against the territorial integrity and political independence of any state;

- the use of brute force by Russia in pursuit of a warped perception of national interest is a serious affront and presents Europe with the gravest security situation it has faced in decades, with repercussions for global security and for the world’s economy;

- the Ukrainian people are being subjected to constant bombardment, atrocities and war crimes which are being committed throughout the country, but most particularly in Mariupol;

notes that:

- the Russian war against Ukraine is inflicting incalculable suffering on the Ukrainian people, with continued targeting of civilians and civilian infrastructure by the Russian forces;

- the Irish Government, along with the international community, remains resolute in its solidarity and support for Ukraine, and reiterates the call on Russia to cease all hostilities immediately and to withdraw from Ukraine unconditionally;

- Ireland has acted decisively in terms of its diplomatic actions, urging and advocating for strong sanctions packages against Russia and the interests of its Oligarchs, and calling early for the removal of Russian Banks from SWIFT;

- Ireland has been to the forefront of efforts at a UN level calling for humanitarian access corridors and supporting the Emergency Special Session of the UN General Assembly;

- Ireland has supported the expedited EU membership applicant status for Ukraine, including demonstrating leadership in inviting the European Commission to swiftly submit its opinion on Ukraine’s application to become a member, thereby deepening the partnership between the EU and Ukraine;

- Ireland was at the forefront of supporting the application of the Temporary Protection Directive to Ukraine, thereby ensuring the maximum of cooperation and support to Ukrainian citizens fleeing the war, and travelling to Ireland;

- Ireland has supported the EU financial aid package of €500m for Ukraine, contributing €11m of non-lethal elements;

- Ireland has provided €20m in humanitarian aid to Ukraine which is supporting the UN and the Red Cross to deliver life-saving humanitarian assistance to Ukraine and in neighbouring countries;

- the HSE has provided medical supplies through the EU’s Civil Protection Mechanism and the Department of Foreign Affairs Rapid Response Register has been activated, making skilled humanitarians available at short notice to the UN system;

- the Irish Government is coordinating a whole-of-Government approach under the leadership of the Department of the Taoiseach and that every Government Department is mobilising to respond to the needs of Ukrainians, both within Ukraine and those who are refugees coming to Ireland and throughout the EU;

- the Irish Government has established reception supports at our airports and ports to assist Ukrainian refugees, staffed by officials from the Departments of Justice, Social Protection, Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth, and other State Departments and Agencies;

- the Irish Government is committed to the seamless continuation of education, especially early child education for children and young people from Ukraine at primary and post-primary levels, and that the Government will make language provision available for all Ukrainians a priority, as well as access to third-level education to ensure a continuation of studies;

- the Irish people have demonstrated enormous generosity in their response to the humanitarian crisis caused by this unprovoked war in terms of:

- donations to the Red Cross of over €20m from the Irish public and business community;

- pledges of accommodation and supports that exceed 20,000 pledges to date;

- Irish NGOs and local community groups have donated goods and services, with many travelling to Poland to provide supports to fleeing Ukrainians;

- Ireland has exhibited a very generous spirit in terms of supporting Ukrainian refugees and that this must be demonstrated in the practical support of the mainly women and children arriving in Ireland over the past month and in the coming months;

endorses:

- the open position which Ireland has taken in collaboration with our EU partners to welcome Ukrainian refugees into our country without restriction;

- the great lengths the Ukrainian President is going to in addressing both Houses of the Oireachtas;

calls for:

Trauma Support:

- in acknowledgement of the trauma experienced by those arriving from Ukraine, noting that war crimes are being committed and that this is likely to have impacted more particularly on the women, and the ongoing trauma that will be experienced as they fear for the lives of those left behind in Ukraine, that counselling supports, both individual and group supports are provided free of charge around the country;

- Safe Ireland, Women’s Aid, the Rape Crisis Centres and other such services to be provided with additional supports to enable them to enlarge their services;

Accommodation:

- the provision of an incentive scheme to secure accommodation in vacant and holiday homes for use by Ukrainian refugees as a more appropriate and cost-effective way to provide accommodation when compared to hotel accommodation;

Education and Work:

- the Department of Further and Higher Education, Research, Innovation and Science to ensure the system of recognition of the skills and qualifications of Ukrainians is expedited to support those Ukrainians who want to access the workplace;

- every endeavour to be made to ensure that services are expanded with qualified Ukrainian personnel to ease the access to services with competent fluent Ukrainian and Russian speakers;

- the provision of technological supports to assist in hybrid education and remote working;

- support for the expansion of the Erasmus programme, the EU Programme for Education, Training, Youth and Sport, to fund a dedicated European Scholarship Scheme, which will remove any financial and regulatory barriers for students and researchers wishing to continue with their studies;

- support for adjustments to the Student Universal Support Ireland (SUSI) programme to ensure Ukrainian students are supported to attend third-level education;

- support for the expansion of English for Speakers of Other Languages (ESOL) courses along with online options for Age 18+, including the necessary budget supports for Education Training Boards (ETBs);

- support for the role of County Liaison Committees, for cross-departmental supports based on ETBs, to accelerate teaching supports/additional accommodation for primary and post-primary schools at maximum capacity, using the National Inventory of School Capacity, to ensure education provision for Ukrainian children;

- increased allocation of English as an Additional Language (EAS) support posts and National Educational Psychologists (NEPS) services to support Ukrainian children at primary and post-primary levels;

- the Department of Rural and Community Development to work with the Department of Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth to ensure that public buildings, business hubs and community centres can be made available for the provision of healthcare and psychosocial supports, of domestic, sexual and gender-based violence (DSGBV) supports, of supports for the elderly and people with a disability, and childcare and child minding supports, along with the provision of language and interpretation supports to ensure services can be accessed;

Transport:

- the immediate recognition of Ukrainian driving licenses;

General:

- in relation to education/social welfare/health information, the provision of a one-stop-shop website in the relevant languages of Ukrainian refuges to ensure the availability of all information;

- the Government to provide funding to hire local liaison personnel and translators;

- support for the roll-out of a national volunteer effort to support families and children from the Ukraine, co-ordinated through the community call structure which worked so successfully during the Covid-19 pandemic in mobilising and coordinating community and voluntary efforts at local level.

It is a real honour for me to propose this motion today on behalf of the Fine Gael group. This motion is our collective view. It passionately reflects the united commitment of my colleagues to ensure that the words "I stand with Ukraine" have real meaning in the lives of those who are fleeing this murder. I thank the Minister for taking this today. I have been in Normandy on 6 June. I have watched the commemorations of the lives lost in the Second World War, the front rows filled with the yearly dwindling numbers of veterans who stand shoulder to shoulder in honour, remembering that they fought for freedom in the face of a man who believed that whole nations did not deserve to exist. They saw some horrific atrocities and the genocide of the Holocaust and they conquered.

I have stood in Ypres at the Menin Gate during the sounding of the last post at 8 p.m. which has been done every night since 1928 with the exception of the Second World War years, remembering those who died for freedom and independence in the so-called war to end all wars, and I have stood reading the names of the Irish men who made the ultimate sacrifice. We have a medal at home from the Great War, given to my husband's grandfather, who left an impoverished Dublin, unable to find work in the fallout from the 1913 Lock-out. He joined the British army as a means to feed his family. He never once spoke of what he saw or experienced, not just because it was culturally impermissible in post-1916 Ireland, but because the trauma of it was unimaginable.

The United Nations and the European Union were both born from a desire to ensure that there would never be war on such a scale again. The European Union in particular was founded on the principle of ensuring peace in Europe. It is therefore unthinkable that for the first time in seven decades, Europe again faces a war where one person and his regime have decided that a democratic nation does not have a right to exist.

Ukraine is a noble nation that chose a democratic pathway towards its free and independent nationhood, that aspired to build relationships with and take its place in Europe in wanting to join the European Union. It voted, it decided, so the idea that some other nation would deny its legitimacy is outrageous and immoral. It is a barbaric assault on democracy. Putin has launched an assault on Ukraine because he is afraid of democracy, afraid of Ukraine's freedom to democratically choose its government and the possibility that Russia itself would so chose. We have seen the most egregious atrocities, we have heard the stories of horrific war crimes told to us by the familiar faces of journalists we know and trust. We have seen the images of bloodied civilians, of bodies in the street. I shudder to think every day of what might be happening to the women in Mariupol. In recent days we have heard reports that more than 6,000 residents of Mariupol have been forcibly deported and taken to Russia. This evokes a painful memory and echoes of history for Ukrainians of the trauma of mass deportations inflicted by Soviet Union between 1936 and 1952, when more than 60,000 Ukrainians and Poles were forcibly deported to Siberia.

Putin's threat regarding "consequences greater than any of you have faced in history" is not just a threat to Ukraine. Indeed it is a threat to the West and to the whole world. It is extraordinary that we watch, live, as Russia shuts down information to its own people as their president sells them lies. We watch with horror from our free democracy the stories from our history books incredibly springing to life, stories of mass oppression and of murder happening live before our eyes.I looked up Tripadvisor to see what it would say about the restaurants in Mariupol. It has very impressive photographs of beautiful restaurants with four-star recommendations but they are a grim reminder of a life that is no more and a city pummelled to the ground. Even if there is a cessation of the murder tomorrow, Ukraine will already have lost so much. This is to say nothing of the thousands who will never see their loved ones alive again. Therefore, it is absolutely right that we embrace those fleeing Ukraine with open arms, think about the women and children arriving on our shores and cherish them and catch them as they, in the safety of Ireland, come to realise the shock of what has happened and await news of what is to come. We stand shoulder to shoulder with them as they mourn their lives as they knew them and come to terms with the trauma that has befallen them. It is absolutely right that we embrace them.

I am so proud of the Irish people’s openness and generosity. This war will not be without a cost to us as a people; it will not be without pain to us. We have to brace ourselves for what may lie ahead and is yet unknown. I am so proud of what has been done in the name of the Irish people by our Government, including the Minister for Foreign Affairs, Deputy Coveney, who led the charge in Europe and the UN in ensuring action against Russia. I am also proud of the Minister for Justice, Deputy McEntee, who stepped forward very early to break down the barriers associated with documentation that may have delayed women and children in coming to Ireland, and of the Minister for Social Protection, Deputy Humphreys, who made personal public service, PPS, numbers available at the point of arrival and ensured financial supports would be provided. Each Department has played an extraordinary role. I am really pleased with the Department of Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth, which continues to be instrumental in providing accommodation, supports and care, including childcare. These Departments have been followed by the Departments of Education and Agriculture, Food and the Marine. Instrumental decisions have been made by the Minister of State at the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine on supports for farmers in Ireland as we brace ourselves for the impact.

Our Government has really stepped up and has been decisive in its support of our fellow nation and citizens. I am very proud of my Fine Gael party colleagues and their decisive leadership. I am also proud of the decisions made in private without any publicity and that have put life, care and support first. I am proud that having a harp on one’s passport really means something. It means that those affected by the changes and horror in Ukraine are supported by this State and its Government.

It is really important that we do not look away. We must not dilute our resolve. We must remember our Ukrainian brothers and sisters at all times. Our initial reaction of embrace must be maintained, and we must support each other as a nation to ensure we continue to stand with Ukraine. We must not get used to what we are seeing on television. We must not soften in our horror over the annihilation of a nation and its people. When we look back at this time, what will we think of ourselves and our actions? Will we have done all we could possibly have done?

Now is not the time to debate neutrality; no objective discussion could take place in the face of the atrocities we are seeing. Now is the time to stand strong and be biased in favour of a people and the humanitarian care they require. These people have chosen democracy, especially while we cherish our own. Now is the time when we must step up our efforts, ensuring the women and children coming among us in trauma and mourning will not want for anything. Hence, we have set out this motion and all its needs and asks. Yes, that means sharing resources that are already stretched. It means sharing our spaces, even our private spaces, with strangers who will become friends. When we stand with Ukraine, we stand for democracy. We are standing against a bully and for our own way of life.

When I first spoke about Ukraine in this House, I quoted the press release from the Auschwitz-Birkenau Memorial and Museum. It is particularly poignant. It states Auschwitz has seen atrocities and also blue skies. With the indulgence of the House, I will end with a Jewish poem of remembrance because it fits this occasion:

At the rising of the sun and at its going down

We remember them.

At the blowing of the wind and in the chill of winter

We remember them.

At the opening of the buds and in the rebirth of spring

We remember them.

At the blueness of the skies and in the warmth of summer

We remember them.

At the rustling of the leaves and in the beauty of autumn

We remember them.

At the beginning of the year and when it ends

We remember them.

As long as we live, they too will live;

For they are now a part of us

As we remember them.

When we are weary and in need of strength

We remember them.

When we are lost and sick at heart

We remember them.

When we have joy we crave to share

We remember them.

When we have decisions that are difficult to make

We remember them.

When we have achievements that are based on theirs

We remember them.

As long as we live, they too will live;

For they are now a part of us

As we remember them.

I commend the motion to the House.