Seanad debates

Wednesday, 23 February 2022

Nithe i dtosach suíonna - Commencement Matters

Foreign Policy

10:30 am

Photo of Mark DalyMark Daly (Fianna Fail)
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Before I call on Senator Dolan, I welcome her family to the Distinguished Visitors Gallery. Her father, mother and brothers are here. I am sure they have been involved in all the campaigning. I want to let them know that she is doing a great job in Seanad Éireann.

I welcome the Minister to the House to respond to this matter.

Photo of Aisling DolanAisling Dolan (Fine Gael)
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I thank the Cathaoirleach. He is very kind. It is a great honour to have my family here today.

I welcome the Minister for Foreign Affairs, Deputy Coveney, here today to speak on EU plans to support the people of Ukraine and the measures to be put in place to mitigate against the potential impact of sanctions in respect of energy and grain costs. This is potentially the most devastating European conflict since the Second World War. There are over 41 million people in Ukraine, which is the second largest country on the European continent after Russia. It has been an independent country since the dissolution of the USSR in 1991, has valuable access to the Black Sea and is bordered by seven countries, namely, Russia, Belarus, Poland, Slovakia, Hungary, Romania and Moldova. We see Russia sending in so-called peacekeepers to a sovereign country and declaring the provinces of Donetsk and Luhansk as independent. As the Minister has stated, Ireland's support for Ukraine's sovereignty and territorial integrity within its internationally recognised borders and its right to choose its own foreign and security policy path is unwavering.

In terms of diplomacy and the outright aggression we see now by Russia, will the Minister update the House as to how the EU plans to support the safety of the Ukrainian people? Presidents of the European Commission and the European Council say that this is illegal and unacceptable and that it violates international law and Ukraine's territorial integrity and sovereignty. What can be done for financial assistance?

At a trade level, only recently the BBC pointed to how Russia has been setting up large foreign exchange reserves, up to $630 billion, to sanction-proof its economy since the imposition of sanctions in 2014 over Crimea. In this regard, Russia supplies a huge amount, nearly 40 to 50%, of gas to Europe. In recent sanctions, Germany has suspended the Nord Stream 2 pipeline. Even in the last couple of days, the price of a barrel of oil have increased massively and is now close to $100 a barrel. Russia and Ukraine account for nearly one third of the world's grain. Their wheat exports are incredible. The impact this will have on food prices is considerable. In terms of the export of grain and of wheat production, Russia has surpassed itself. In 2000 it produced approximately 30 million tonnes of grain annually and exported only 696,000 tonnes. In 2010, it doubled that production to 60 million tonnes and exported 18 million tonnes. In 2020 it produced a record 85 million tonnes and exported 35 million tonnes. It plays a huge part in global food markets. Ukraine exports 24 million tonnes. Together, they account for more than one third of the world market. Given the presence of so many Russian troops surrounding Ukraine, the incursion into Donetsk and Luhansk and the potential for a full-scale invasion, will the Minister give an update from an Irish perspective on his recent meeting in Brussels and the plans for these potential economic impacts? I acknowledge the incredible work by his Department and the strong support from Senator Seery Kearney for Irish families involved in surrogacy at the moment. How do we as a small nation with a strong voice and a seat on the UN Security Council support democracy?

Photo of Simon CoveneySimon Coveney (Cork South Central, Fine Gael)
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I welcome this opportunity. I also welcome Senator Dolan's family to the Seanad Chamber today. They should be very proud of their sister and daughter in the context of the role she continues to play in this House.

At the Foreign Affairs Council on Monday, we decided to provide €1.2 billion in macro-financial assistance to Ukraine. We hope this package will assist the Government and people of Ukraine in addressing some of the difficulties the Russian military build-up in and around their country, which has been destabilising their economy and society, is causing. The European Union is one of the largest humanitarian donors to eastern Ukraine. Since 2014, the EU and its member states have contributed over €1 billion in humanitarian and early recovery aid to support the needs of people in the areas directly affected by the conflict and those who have fled conflict areas. Many people do not realise it, but there has been an ongoing war in eastern Ukraine which has claimed the lives of about 14,000 people in recent years. The EU is advancing its contingency planning in the event of increased levels of need in the coming weeks.

On 15 February 2022, the State Emergency Service of Ukraine advocated that the EU Civil Protection Mechanism requesting in-kind assistance, including medical and shelter supplies and communications equipment, be triggered. Ireland is among a number of EU member states that responded to this request with an offer of medical supplies.

Russia's decision in the past two days regarding the Donetsk and Luhansk oblasts is totally unacceptable. The decision is illegal and violates Ukraine's territorial integrity and sovereignty. It also breaches the UN Charter. In order to uphold international law, the EU must react in a firm and proportionate manner in co-ordination with its partners. Ireland has therefore expressed strong support for EU sanctions.

The package of sanctions under discussion by EU foreign ministers targets those responsible for these decisions as well as those involved in the defence sector and in disinformation. Financial measures target the banks financing Russian decision makers and cut off access to the EU's capital and financial markets for the Central Bank of Russia. Economic relations between the breakaway parts of Donetsk and Luhansk and the EU will also be targeted. These measures are proportionate and absolutely necessary. Additional measures will be taken if the situation escalates further.

The impact of sanctions on energy and food prices remains to be seen, particularly in light of any additional sanctions that the EU may impose or retaliatory measures by Russia, which undoubtedly will happen. We know that sanctions will not be cost-free for Ireland or other EU member states, but we are left with little choice given Russia's behaviour. There is absolutely no way the European Union, along with the United States, the United Kingdom and many others, can stand idly by and watch a country with the power of Russia simply ignore the sovereignty of its neighbouring state and construct a basis for sending in so-called peacekeepers who are arriving in tanks and attack helicopters. These are not peacekeepers. This is essentially about, as the US President has described, carving out part of Ukraine and Russia taking it by force. Unfortunately, in the two regions we are talking about, separatists will now be supported by the Russian military, not only to secure the area they already control but, because they only control about one third of those two regions, we are looking now at the potential of very serious conflict between Russia and Ukraine in relation to the remaining areas of those two regions that are currently controlled by Ukraine. This is an escalating and very worrying situation.

Ireland’s role in this matter must be to support EU collective action and also insist constantly on a diplomatic intervention. Ultimately, we are trying to prevent war, not plan for how we would respond to war when it takes place. The priority must be to prevent it in the first place. That is why intensive diplomatic engagement must also be part of this strategy, as well as deterrent through increased sanctions.

Photo of Aisling DolanAisling Dolan (Fine Gael)
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I thank the Minister for giving his valuable time this morning. I welcome the acknowledgement of funding of over €1.2 billion in macro-financial assistance to Ukraine. Cyberdefence is also crucial because there is serious destabilisation taking place in Ukraine at the moment.

It is crucial that we realise that the sanctions have to be effective. They have to change the course of action. As the Minister said, it is about ensuring that we have peace in Ukraine and that we are all working towards that goal. However, in the face of this outright aggression, we have to ensure those sanctions have an immediate impact on the Russian economy and trade. This, along with the EU targeting of banks and so on, which the Minister mentioned, is probably how we will go forward. We are in the eye of the storm. I appreciate all the work the Minister is doing, both with EU foreign ministers and at the UN. I thank him.

Photo of Simon CoveneySimon Coveney (Cork South Central, Fine Gael)
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We will continue to be vocal at an EU level and also on the UN Security Council, where our view has been made very clear. In many ways, that view is directly supported by the UN Secretary General, who has been very clear that the UN sees what is happening as a complete breach of international law and the UN Charter. Russia has to bear the responsibility for that. There is no justification for this in the context of Russia’s security concerns and so on. The EU has made it very clear that it is, of course, willing to enter into dialogue with Russia on security matters more generally across Europe. That offer is still there. However, Russia effectively claiming portions of Ukraine, and publicly stating that it no longer recognises Ukraine’s sovereignty, must trigger a response by the international community and that is what is happening now.

I thank Senator Dolan for raising this issue in the Seanad. As the Senator appreciates, it is essential that at this crucial time for European security, the EU stands staunch and unwavering in support of Ukraine’s sovereignty. This means macro-financial assistance, as I outlined. It also means sanctions on Russia, should they be necessary, and these will increase, if necessary.

It is true that there may be some economic cost arising from these sanctions. Impacts could arise, in particular, from possible Russian counter-sanctions and the likely fall in the value of the rouble, making Irish exports more expensive, and from economic impacts across European trading partners as well. The Government is preparing appropriate contingency plans to mitigate potential impacts to the Irish economy. We have had a number of meetings on that across Departments, as sanctions will not be cost-free for Ireland and other EU member states. However, we are left with little choice, given Russia’s behaviour and stated intentions. The cost of ignoring such behaviour would, in the end, be far greater for everybody.

I hope that in the coming days we will find mechanisms that can de-escalate some of the language of the past number of days and some of the actions behind that. However, there is an increasing sense of pessimism in terms of where this is moving now. As I said, hopefully that pessimism can be reversed. For now, the focus has to be on appropriate sanctions, but with preparedness to go much further if we need to, to act as a further deterrent, as well as an intensive approach towards diplomatic intervention.

Photo of Ned O'SullivanNed O'Sullivan (Fianna Fail)
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Senator Dolan did well raising such a timely motion.