Ukraine refugees and anti-war stance
Deputy Murphy sought an open-ended refugee response for people fleeing Ukraine and warned against NATO escalation. The Tánaiste confirmed Ireland would accept refugees through a European approach but rejected the Deputy’s anti-NATO framing.
I want to express People Before Profit’s solidarity with the people of Ukraine. They are facing a horrifying imperialist invasion. Will the Tánaiste give a guarantee that no limit will be placed on the number of refugees fleeing Ukraine who will be accepted into Ireland? Does the Tánaiste agree that any NATO escalation will simply make the situation worse, threatening descent into a deeper and bloodier conflict? What we need now is to build a global anti-war movement, independent from and in opposition to both imperialist camps, to demand the immediate withdrawal of Russian troops from Ukraine and the withdrawal of NATO battle groups and missiles from eastern Europe.
I call on people to join the Irish Anti-War Movement protest today at 5.30 p.m. in front of the Dáil.
Comment on this
Certainly, Ireland will accept refugees from Ukraine. Whatever we do will have to be done on a European basis as part of a European agreement. It is fair to say that we were one of the leading countries in the EU when it came to accepting refugees from Afghanistan. This is a European country. It is much nearer. There is a significant Ukrainian community in Ireland already. We will be willing to accept people but that will have to be agreed on a European-wide basis. We will be happy to step forward as a country in that regard.
I must entirely disagree with the Deputy on any suggestion or allegation of a NATO escalation. That is not what happened here. In 2014, Ukraine pressed forward for democracy and decided that it wanted to be on a European course. It is an independent country. It has the right to decide to join the EU or NATO if it wants to. That is not our business; it is Ukraine's decision. When that happened in 2014, Russia and Putin seized Crimea and Sevastopol. It is now happening again in the Donbas region. That is what happened in Moldova in relation to Transnistria. It is what happened in Georgia as well. It is not an issue of NATO aggression. It is Russian aggression. It happened in Moldova and in Georgia and it is happening in Ukraine now. Let us not pretend that there is any equivalence.