It is nearly 23 years since the beginning of the Iraq war. That was started with a “pre-emptive” strike on Saddam Hussein’s presidential palace. More than two decades later, and it is clear no lessons have been learned from that disaster. The United States and Israel have labelled their strikes on Iran as “pre-emptive”. They have done that purely for propaganda purposes to try to give their violent attacks a veneer of legality. But let us be clear: this military action is a clear breach of international law. It should be strongly condemned by the Taoiseach and the rest of the Government. Instead, we get words of “concern” and “dismay”. From reading the Taoiseach's statement, you would not even know the US was involved.

We all agree that the Iranian regime is brutal, authoritarian and repressive. Tens of thousands of people have been killed in recent protests, and an unknowable number have been imprisoned, but this attempted regime change by the US and Israel, supported by European allies, is not just reckless; it is dangerous. As President Connolly has said:

The normalisation of war, including the invasion at will of sovereign states, is a path that only leads to destruction and loss of life.

The entire Middle East is already a tinderbox, and this war is spiralling out of control. More than 780 people, including 168 schoolgirls, have already been slaughtered in Iran and the death toll is rising across the region. This escalation in violence has caused huge distress and anxiety for thousands of Irish citizens now stranded in Gulf countries and it has also exposed our 358 peacekeepers in Lebanon to significant danger. Their families need to be assured that they will be pulled out if the situation deteriorates further.

Does the Irish Government now believe that large countries can simply ignore international law and launch attacks on other countries whenever they feel like it? The fact is that the Trump Administration changes its rationale for going to war day by day and European leaders, including the Taoiseach, are just stepping back and allowing that to happen, refusing to outright condemn the US as it continues to dismantle international law. I cannot emphasise enough my condemnation of the Iranian regime and its treatment of women in particular, but where does this end? International law does not just apply to countries we agree with. The structures are there to prevent all hell breaking loose on the international stage and those structures are being completely dismantled. Trump has bombed seven countries since taking office and has faced no consequences for his actions. The strategy of appeasing the Trump Administration has not worked. It is past time for European leaders, including the Taoiseach, to stand up for international law. Will the Taoiseach condemn this attack? Will he rule out any use of Shannon Airport by the US military? Will he outline the steps he is taking to ensure the repatriation of Irish citizens stranded in the Middle East?

Ireland believes fundamentally in international rule of law. We are a multilateral nation and all our work over the past number of years has been dedicated to those principles in every single form that we attend under the auspices of the United Nations, the European Union or, indeed, other international organisations. International law is not being adhered to and has not been for quite some time by many actors. That is the reality. Prime Minister Carney called that out in Davos and described the reality of the international world order as we see it today. The House is agreed on the brutality of the Iranian regime but if we are all honest, one would not have thought that for the past three years because there was rarely a debate in here about Iran. There was barely a motion here about the malign views of Iran. I think someone on the backbenches here raised it. It might have been the Minister, Deputy O'Callaghan, some years ago, who put a formal position here on the Iranian regime. There was a studied silence here. The Deputy can accuse me of this, that and the other but on the Opposition side, there was a one-directional approach to the international order. At times, even the Russian aggression is condemned and put aside in a formulaic way.

We are very clear. First, I condemn the killing of children anywhere in any situation. Children and innocent civilians must always be prioritised, without question. One of the big challenges for the UN is that we are similar to where we were prior to the demise of the League of Nations. There is a serious issue in the world. It is dangerous, without question. There is an absence of an international rules-based order right now. Of that, there is no question. It is dangerous for small nations like Ireland which depend on an international rules-based order for our security because we are not a military nation. We do not have military power. We are fundamentally a peacekeeping nation. That is our orientation and that has been our contribution, as well as humanitarian aid to many troubled spots in the world. We have contributed Irish personnel to conflict resolution all over the world. We have done it in Mozambique, Colombia and elsewhere. That is our contribution and to try to characterise the Irish position as anything else is disingenuous. That is how we perform on an international level.

We also realise the limits of what we can do globally and internationally. We are clear that the only sustainable way forward, which will require the world to engage collectively, is a proper international rules-based order that can also deal effectively with rogue and oppressive regimes, which it has failed to deal with for three or four decades.

What about Shannon?

That was a long-winded way of the Taoiseach saying that he will not condemn the breach of international law. We can all agree that the UN is not perfect but it is the best that we have got. The Taoiseach should be doing much more to try to defend that. The Taoiseach cannot just say that we support international law. He has to defend it when it matters. He has to call out the US when it tramples all over it.

First and foremost, the people of the Middle East will suffer as a result of this illegal war but the effects will be global. Energy companies are already cynically capitalising on this crisis with blatant price-gouging. We have had reports of the price of home heating oil skyrocketing, which will be devastating for people all over the country who are already struggling, not least the disabled people who are protesting at the weekend because they simply cannot afford to live in this country. What will the Taoiseach do about energy price-gouging that is already under way? What supports will be made available to people who simply cannot take any further rising costs? Will the Taoiseach at least consider the Social Democrats' proposal for a €400 energy credit for those who need it the most.

In terms of the energy situation, from anecdotal accounts, it would appear there is a degree of price-gouging is going on. In our view, both the Commission for Regulation of Utilities, CRU, and Competition and Consumer Protection Commission should closely monitor what is happening and people who have complaints should immediately complain to the Competition and Consumer Protection Commission and the CRU. The working family payment will start on Thursday and an extra 50,000 families will benefit from the fuel allowance. Those on the working family payment will benefit from the fuel allowance and will receive back pay to January.

That will be a help to that cohort. We will keep an urgent review of the situation as it unfolds because there is the potential of a crisis here, clearly, similar to what happened in terms of the invasion of Ukraine and the consequential energy crisis that occurred there. We will keep this under continual review in terms of how it develops over the next number of days and weeks.