Niall Ó Donnghaile (Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

At dtús, ba maith liom fearadh na fáilte a chur roimh ár gcuairteoirí inniu. Táim iontach sásta agus bródúil go bhfuil seal agam ár ndlúthpháirtíocht agus tacaíocht a léiriú dóibh agus do mhuintir na hÚcráine.

I welcome our Ukrainian visitors to the Seanad and thank them, in particular, for all their respectful and impressive use of our own language. Senator Clifford-Lee and I said we suspected the hand of Senator Ward in that regard but we certainly thank them for acknowledging and using their cúpla focal.

I know our visitors are here on a very short mission but I would like them to take a message home to their beleaguered people fighting the cruel aggression of the Russian Government led by Vladimir Putin. That message is a very simple one; it is a message of thanks to the Ukrainian people for their bravery, their heroic resistance and determination to oppose Russian tyranny. The people of Ireland cannot thank the people of Ukraine enough for that stance. They are in the front line of defending the democratic rights of small nations to have their nation and its national boundaries accepted and recognised, and are doing so against a much more powerful nation next to them. The Ukrainian people are teaching the Russian imperialists a lesson, which the British, the Americans and other imperialist powers around the world have been taught by those who occupied them in their time. In Ireland, we are still dealing with the consequences of British interference in Irish affairs, as I speak, but that, colleagues, is a story for another day.

Today in the Seanad, it is a day for the Ukrainian people to feel our thanks to, and solidarity with, them. Their stance, which has cost them dearly in terms of loss of life and the destruction of many of their cities, is not only protecting the Ukrainian people it is protecting the people of Ireland and the rest of Europe. Their struggle is a democratic one and it is one that the people of Ireland support and identify with. It has been Ireland’s and Sinn Féin’s privilege to support the people of Ukraine since the Russian invasion. The people of Ireland have shown to thousands of Ukrainians, who are making their home here, a céad míle fáilte. In that regard, Ireland should act. We should reopen our embassy in Kyiv not just in terms of practical work and assistance but as an important symbol of our solidarity to the Ukrainian people and Ireland’s commitment to democracy, peace building and justice. May I say, if O’Brien’s Irish pub in Kyiv can reopen, then so too should our embassy.

We give full support to Ukraine's application for membership of the EU and look forward soon, we hope, to greeting them as fully fledged members of the European family. We continue to support sanctions against Russia. We also support the International Criminal Court, ICC, investigation into human rights abuses during the invasion and the war. It is my understanding there are currently 16,000 cases in front of the ICC relating to crimes carried out in Ukraine. I know from speaking to my colleague, Deputy John Brady, earlier that our Ukrainian colleagues made a number of asks of Ireland in terms of those investigations. They would like more women investigators and specialist psychologists to be involved. Before coming to the Seanad Chamber this afternoon, we heard from representatives of the UN Women's Peace & Humanitarian Fund regarding their response to the war in Ukraine and the key role women play not only in defence of their nation but, crucially, in peace building, conflict resolution and in the aftermath of conflict. It is vital and crucial we support those efforts as we go forward.

Guilty parties must be brought to justice for crimes against humanity and violation of people’s human rights. Ireland and the EU must continue to do what they can to support the resistance of the Ukrainian people at home and abroad. This means increasing support to Romania and Moldova. The invasion by Russia has also raised issues of concern around energy and food sources and that has been referenced heavily by colleagues today. We have seen the impact of Russia’s monopoly on energy sources such as gas and oil and how millions of people throughout Africa are facing food shortages brought about as a result of the Russian blockade of Ukrainian ports. Russia has weaponised hunger. The war and the abuse of energy sources and food by the Russian Government is a stark reminder that the world needs to develop alternative energy and food sources capable of dealing with the crisis caused by climate change, Covid and conflict but the immediate crisis is the war of occupation in Ukraine.

I hope the Ukrainian Members of Parliament return home from Ireland in the full knowledge they have our full support and thanks. We share with them the deep desire that the war ends soon and that Russia withdraws all its forces from all of Ukraine, which will allow the people to rebuild their country and, in the fullness of time, establish peaceful, respectful relations with Russia. The heroic resistance of Ukrainian people has not only inspired the people of Ireland but the people of Europe and the rest of the world.

I am particularly keen to hear colleagues' views on how Ireland can use our position on the UN Security Council, and I am not as cynical as Senator Craughwell in that regard, and from our own lessons in Ireland of peace-building and conflict resolution to support humanitarian and justice efforts in Ukraine.

I thank our Ukrainian colleagues again for being here and outlining their case so eloquently, so well and so forcefully on behalf of the Ukrainian people. I welcome and thank all our visitors in the Gallery and the Ukrainian ambassador who is here with us today. I wish them all the very best, every success, good wish and good fortune but, above all else, I wish for peace, justice, for stability for their country and for their people. Go n-eirí go geal libh. Slava Ukraini.