Jerry Buttimer (Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I welcome the Minister of State to the House. I commend Senator Dooley on his very fine contribution and on his commitment. I also commend the Cathaoirleach on his recent visit to Kyiv and Ukraine. It is important that we stand in unison as a House.

I hope that other parliaments across Europe will take up the clarion call from the Cathaoirleach. What we saw this week from Europe is not good enough. The Minister of State has shown leadership, as has the Irish Government but other countries are beginning to fray at the edges and we have to stand up to that. Senator Boyhan is right that we have a duty to welcome the men, women and children who have come to our country and to inculcate a love of their language, culture and customs but also of ours, and that is happening right across the country. I commend Senator Conway for the extraordinary work he has done and is doing every day in County Clare.

This is a very important motion. I do not agree with those who have said that we have not been strong leaders. We have been really strong leaders and advocates, as a Government, a country and a people. I support accelerating Ukraine's application for membership of the EU and I ask the Minister of State to provide an outline of the situation in that regard.

Today in this House we must not just stand in solidarity with the people of Ukraine but must ensure there is a proactive call to action across the EU and the world. There can be no obfuscation by some. We must look to China, Hungary, Turkey and others and call them out. Last week in this House, Congressman Neal spoke about Ukraine in his contribution. Where are our fellow Ukrainian parliamentarians today? They are not doing what we are doing because they cannot. This motion is not about the world that Senator Dooley spoke about. It is about working to ensure that the progress, peace and economic prosperity that Europe has made and enjoyed since the Second World War continues.

I thank the Cathaoirleach for his proactivity, his words and his visit. I commend Senator Dooley for his work and I also commend the Minister of State.Let us look at the wording of the motion. There are references to "illegal invasions", "war crimes", "killing of innocents", "causing serious bodily harm or mental harm to members of the group", "barbaric acts of murder, rape, desecration of corpses and the wide-scale use of heavy military equipment against civilians". Language does matter. I am pleased this House will stand united tonight in support of this motion.