Shane Moynihan
Dublin Mid-West · Fianna Fáil · Ireland
“Hopefully, we will not need to extend the planning. That is the intention of all. Similarly for Lucan Community College, we need to get the planning right now for phases two and three.”
“Similarly, for Lucan Community College, that is being delivered under phase one through a modular framework and there is now an intention to secure planning for the remaining phase, so that does not delay the delivery of phases two and three of Lucan. I also wish to draw attention to Devine Mercy junior and senior national schools.”
“Thomas's and Scoil Aíne junior and senior national schools in Lucan, they are immediately adjacent to Adamstown, which is one of the rapidly growing areas in the country right now. They are in the same building they were in when the school was opened. That needs to be addressed as a matter of urgency. For St.”
“I thank the Minister for her very comprehensive answer. I see first hand the progress that is being made with school buildings across the constituency but there are also buildings that need to be addressed as a matter of urgency. The Minister mentioned Scoil Chrónáin.”
“The schools I intend to address are St. Thomas Junior National School and Scoil Aíne Naofa in Lucan and Divine Mercy junior and senior national schools and St. Kevin's Community College. What is the current status of the Lucan Community College project and Scoil Chrónáin? I ask the Minister to make a statement on the matter.”
“Whatever course of action the Government takes, and I have views on either a total ban or a registration and licensing system, it is clear to me that gardaí will need training in the enforcement and tactical interventions that they will need to undertake to enforce whatever ban or system being put in place, as in taking someone from a sco…”
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“High Garda visibility is important but the youth diversion programme is also very important for engaging with young people and diverting them away from a path in criminality. Particularly in fast-growing areas like Newcastle, Saggart and Rathcoole, where there is no youth diversion programme cover at the moment, I would be very keen to work with the Minister to ensure we up that coverage and prevent this issue rather than have to deal with it in the future.”
“Gabhaim buíochas leis an Aire. I raise the matter of Garda visibility, which the Minister has alluded to in the House already. He has, in tandem with the Garda Commissioner, worked to increase Garda visibility on the streets of Dublin city, and certainly in villages such as Rathcoole and Saggart in my constituency we have seen an increase in Garda visibility. Are there plans to continue the deployment of these high-visibility patrols across the suburbs of Dublin? Villages like Lucan and Clondalkin in my constituency would very much benefit from increased Garda presence and visibility. In tandem with that, we need to see further rollout of the youth diversion programme.”
“One of the things we are noticing with the Clonburris strategic development zone, which was passed a number of years ago, is that it does not always facilitate a full-size GAA pitch on the multi-use playing areas that are being made available. I look forward to the outcome of this engagement. I might take up the matter with the Minister of State in the coming months to see if we can progress this and give local authorities support to provide the pitches that are so desperately needed in the Dublin local authorities.”
“I welcome the Minister of State's positive engagement on this matter. Pointing to an example in my own constituency of late, the Dublin City Services Sports and Social Club on the Coldcut Road became available for purchase. I think it is a classic example where, if such a fund existed, it could have supported the local authority in acquiring that asset and making it available for amenity in a part of Dublin that is underserved in terms of overall sports provision. It is important when we talk about the acquisition of land for playing pitches that we also ensure we put the proper pavilions and dressing rooms on those pitches to ensure we maximise participation in sport by boys and girls and that the playing areas and lands acquired are of such dimensions that they facilitate as many disciplines as possible.”
“This is brought into focus when we see, for example, that less than 30% of the pitches that GAA clubs play on in Dublin are owned by the GAA clubs themselves, so they massively rely on the pitches the local authorities provide. Dublin City Council last year stated that there is no capacity to accommodate new playing fields in existing public parks and open spaces. South Dublin County Council operates 166 pitches serving over 1,000 teams. The local authorities have rightly been told to focus on housing, but that means that they are not necessarily always able to compete with developers. Will there be an outcome from the engagement between the Minister of State's Department and the Department of housing on what this looks like as a concrete proposal for local authorities?”
“As I have said and the Minister of State has acknowledged, Dublin local authorities continue to highlight the ongoing challenges in acquiring land for active recreation and sports facilities, not least of all because of the housing pressures that are in the capital and the pressure on them to deliver housing, as well as the fact that they often cannot compete with the premium that is on land that is being bought for houses and that could be used to develop additional playing pitches. Clubs and community groups have repeatedly raised the pressures with elected representatives and my clinic has often been attended by club representatives who point to the fact that there is a huge shortage of pitches.”
“The purpose of this question is to understand the level and nature of the engagement the Minister of State's Department has had with Dublin's local authorities with regard to their experience in acquiring land for new playing pitches. As he knows, access to pitches is a significant pressure point across Dublin, particularly in the faster-growing communities like Lucan, Clondalkin and Saggart, and the advent of new towns like Clonburris and Adamstown. Local authorities need that national support to secure much-needed playing facilities for those new populations.”
“It is important we protect them from harmful materials and the AI-generated risks they encounter but there is also the fact they are entering a world that has AI, as opposed to our generation for whom AI entered the world. They are growing up with AI. They need the basic skills to be able to engage with it properly. Ireland has the opportunity to position itself as a world leader, not only in terms of the benefits of harnessing AI but also in taking a rules and risk-based approach to regulating it properly and preparing all aspects of society for it. The economy can benefit but society knows how to steer it. I look forward in particular to the AI summit to be held next year.”
“I know the Minister, Deputy Lawless, is working on this. This is where arts, humanities and social sciences are so important in promoting these skills and making sure that when people see content on the Internet they do not take it as gospel but question the source from whence it came, the assumptions on which it is based, whether it is strong enough to hold up and whether it is something we should hang our hat on. We know that in various spheres of the economy, and I have spoken about e-scooters in this House previously, that technology often outpaces regulation. The discussion in recent weeks shows us the need for our policy-making apparatus to be up to scratch in order to have the skills to be able to engage with those it seeks to regulate. We need to protect our children above all else.”
“That is why it is important that we take a skills first approach to how we set up our society and our economy to take advantage of the AI technology. This is not just in terms of digital skills. We have work to do in terms of ensuring that digital skills penetration is where it needs to be to allow the population to take advantage of AI. It is also about ensuring that people understand what AI technology can do. It can have biases built into it by its creators. It is ultimately artificial. It is built on training data. It does not have the intrinsic ability of a human being to analyse and think about a problem. It is a machine and not the equivalent to a human consciousness. This is why I encourage the need for reskilling, not only for digital skills but also in the area of critical thinking.”
“There is a role AI can play in education and expanding innovation, which many of us saw in the RDS last week when we visited schools from our constituencies that were using AI as part of their work. Regarding the overall economy and approach to work, there are gains to productivity that AI gives many workers across the economy in various different sectors by allowing them to focus on being creative and bringing into focus the importance of emphasising human skills, such as the ability to work as part of a team, think critically and solve a problem. These are skills that are not developed by AI and are intrinsic to human beings. As we have this discussion about the impact that it will have on the world of work, we need to acknowledge that there will be disruption in the employment market.”
“When we talk about the harnessing of potential, that indicates the importance of talking about the guard-rails that we put in place, the responsibility, the governance and, most importantly, having control as a society. AI can be an excellent servant for our society, but it can be a wicked master. We need to make sure that the balance is perfectly set back towards governments steering and regulating the overall direction of the technology. In this House, we have explored the potential of AI already regarding healthcare, the improvement of diagnostics, early detection and personalised care, and assisting in administrative support for our front-line workers, such as gardaí, nurses, prison officers and so on.”
“No one is going is reverse the technology, but we need to make sure that our legislative frameworks and regulatory approaches are fit for purpose and allow us to benefit as a society from what AI can do while ensuring that we fully eliminate the risks. Any parent who has observed the discussion in the last few weeks has been disgusted by the use of AI tools to create child sexual abuse material, CSAM, and the weaponisation of intimate images of women, which it is important to emphasise are already illegal according to Irish law. I pay tribute to the Minister of State, Deputy Smyth, for her proactive approach in leading from the front on this and vocalising what a lot of constituents have been saying to me about the horror they have felt at this underbelly of AI use.”
“Is mór agam an deis an seans seo a thapú labhairt ar cheist na hintleachta saorga. It is a timely discussion. It is important to recognise that the recent surge in conversation has led us to an reset about how we think of AI, the potential it brings and the power it has as a technology. Oftentimes in this House, we have looked at the positive benefits and positive potential of AI as a new technology. However, this is a point for us to reset that conversation and talk about it in terms of harnessing the potential, placing as much import and emphasis on the harness as we do on exploring the actual potential. It is a pivotal moment where societies will need to come together, understand fully the risks and take a risk-based approach to how we take account of the fact that there is a new technology in AI.”
“This is to make sure that, first, e-scooter users are held accountable for their behaviour, but also that e-scooters are not being used for criminal purposes, as they are in many places around the country as drug gangs’ supply lines. They are used by vulnerable minors to deliver illegal products for the gangs. This is not something new. It is done in Denmark, Germany and Italy. We need to get ahead of the curve and make sure the regulation matches the technology.”
“I noted the Taoiseach's recent comments on e-scooters. I have raised this with him on a number of occasions. I cycle to Leinster House when I can, and I am a big supporter of the active travel agenda. However, I think there is now an emergency with regard to e-scooters that we need to take a very clear view on. We have heard the comments from the national children's health authority and Dr. Irwin Gill about the prevalence of head injuries among those aged under 16 because of the lack of use of helmets on those vehicles. Research from Vienna shows us that head injury rates halve when helmets are made mandatory for users of e-scooters. There are still a number of minors using e-scooters on our roads and streets. That is why we have to go further than just helmet requirements, and also look at registration and insurance requirements.”
“The key to enabling this zoning and to enabling delivery of those homes is the deployment and development of DART+ South West as a transport programme, to intensify the capacity on that line, not only benefitting commuters in Dublin Mid-West but also Kildare North, Dublin South-Central and Dublin-Central. I am asking the Taoiseach for his support to do all we can to prioritise and bring forward, where possible, the delivery of Dart+ South West as a long overdue infrastructure requirement to not only allow catch-up on public transport in my area but also to plan for the future.”
“As the Taoiseach said, the delivery of housing is the number one priority for this Government. That is why it is strategically important that all sectors of the Government support that aim, namely through the national development plan's transport sectoral plan, which was published recently. In my constituency, which the Taoiseach visited, we see it as one of the fastest-growing constituencies in the country, with large developments like Adamstown and Clonburris flying ahead. In its county development plans, South Dublin County Council is setting very ambitious targets for zoning.”
“It is imperative that we do everything we can now to prioritise the delivery of this programme, including, insofar as possible, tendering as much as possible alongside the DART+ South West programme. I thank the Minister, Deputy O'Brien, for his engagement with me on this matter. I look forward to working with the Minister, Deputy O'Donovan, and other Government colleagues to try to make sure we prioritise the delivery of DART+ South West because it is long overdue and is needed to achieve our housing delivery targets and to provide people in Dublin Mid-West with the necessary transport infrastructure they need.”
“The national development plan, NDP, sectoral transport plan published some days ago has a lot of very welcome initiatives and projects in it, which I think will transform infrastructure up and down the country. Today, however, I want to zero attention in on the importance of the DART+ programme, in particular the DART+ South West programme. This is pivotal not only in providing the necessary infrastructure that people in my constituency of Dublin Mid-West, Kildare and the greater Dublin area require for rapid and frequent public transport, but is also key to unlocking housing supply, as per the South Dublin County Council development plan and those of other local authorities across the country, to increase the capacity of that line.”
“We need to make sure this does not get caught up in the discussion about innovation and regulation. This is about safety, pure and simple. With any new technology, safety should be core to its regulation, without discouraging innovation. I encourage a redoubling of our efforts at European level to engage in that, for all the new fathers and fathers-to-be of a generation that is growing up and does not know any different.”
“It is also about educating them about how they use that screen time so they understand the dopamine hit they get from an interaction on a social media app is just that, an empty dopamine hit with no basis in reality or no root whatsoever in real life. It is about educating them about the sheer power of the tool they hold in their hand, without necessarily discovering that power can be used for adverse means later in their life. Ultimately, we cannot see inside a young person's or child's head, so we have no idea of the effects that interaction with technology is having on them, unlike the other interactions we see with technologies around them. I honestly believe that while it is right and proper that we in this House take a proactive approach to addressing this, we need to be a champion for it at EU level as well.”
“Phones are now considered to be as crucial to their life as the wheel was to many generations and civilisations. It is an integral part of who they are. The challenge as regards how we regulate and deal with this is understanding that key distinction. It is not about trying to go after the technology or go after the virtual reality. It is understanding that we have now created this environment where there are those two realities and we need to regulate that in the same way. Without a doubt, one of the things we now focus on is minimising the amount of screen time that our younger people have.”
“I am a dad of three boys, aged six, four and one. Nothing terrifies me more than the virtual world they will go into. I am a few years ahead of Deputy Dolan but I also remember my phone not having the capability that phones have now. More important, when we in this House were growing up, we grew and acquired a phone. Our children today are growing up with phones as if they were part of their body. We have moved to a situation where I am worried technology is no longer the servant but is turning into the master. We are creating two realities in parallel. Our children see a virtual reality and a real reality. Deputy Daly referred to the images of virtual perfection that are cosseted and encouraged. That is not necessarily because of the algorithm, but because of the environment in which these children are growing up.”
“That has been raised many times in this House and it needs to fall under the ambit of the legacy issues as well. What engagement has the Taoiseach had with the Prime Minister on the ongoing humanitarian disaster of a crisis in Sudan, somewhere the international community needs to step up and pay attention? I wish to hear his thoughts on their engagement on that matter.”
“With reference to the Taoiseach’s meeting with British Prime Minister, Keir Starmer, I note the progress made by the UK Government with regard to dealing with legacy, and I compliment Deputy Smith on his work in this area in particular. I note the publication this week by the House of Commons Northern Ireland Affairs Committee around legacy. One of the more interesting recommendations was that Ireland needs to do more with regard to legacy. I would love to hear the Taoiseach's thoughts on that given that all of the legacy investigations of this country have been ECHR compliant, which is not necessarily something that can be said in the case of the UK. I call for increased and accelerated action on, in particular, the Dublin and Monaghan bombings.”
“Attempts not to address or undermine this will only deepen the crisis, and without doubt, external interference must end. However, this is also the moment when the institutions established to stop this ever happening again must step up. The rules of our international order and our common humanity need to be vindicated and the guardians thereof need to be bold in that vindication. This is not just about Sudan, it is about the values we stand for: human rights, justice and solidarity. I am sure Ireland will continue to speak out, to act and lead, to work with our EU and international partners to demand an end to the violence, to ensure accountability and to deliver hope to the people of Sudan in a Sudanese-led process. The violence must end, the suffering must end and we need to make sure we play our part to make that happen.”
“The protection of civilians cannot wait for a ceasefire. Humanitarian and medical workers must be safeguarded and civilians who wish to leave besieged cities must be granted a safe passage. There are obligations under international law and they must be respected and upheld. In the longer term, only a Sudanese-led political process that is inclusive can address the grievances that have led to this conflict. I am sure the EU, with Ireland playing its part, will continue to support the dialogue among Sudanese civilian political groups in close collaboration - and this is important - with the African Union and other partners. The sovereignty, unity and territorial integrity of Sudan, like any nation state, must be preserved.”
“Last week, the EU adopted further restrictive measures against Abdul Rahim Hamdan Dagalo, the RSF's second in command. I am enthused by the fact the EU stands ready to impose further measures on all actors responsible for destabilising Sudan and obstructing its political transition, but sanctions alone are not enough. We need to ensure unhindered humanitarian access. I am proud Ireland has provided over €14 million in humanitarian assistance this year to support communities in Sudan and those displaced in neighbouring countries. This funding, which is being channelled through UN agencies, the Red Cross, Irish NGOs and local organisations, delivers the food, medical supplies and lifesaving aid that is pivotal to these communities. I am pleased we are committed to continuing this assistance in 2026.”
“They are war crimes and crimes against humanity and must be called out as such. Accountability must be at the heart of our response. I am proud to have raised this matter in the Chamber a number of times over the past year. I am happy to see that Ireland, alongside the UK, the Netherlands and Norway, succeeded in ensuring the adoption of a resolution at the UN Human Rights Council earlier this month. This resolution mandates an urgent inquiry into these violations through the independent fact-finding mission in Sudan. The impunity that seems to exist must end. As a country, we have taken a leading role internationally. We were the Government that initiated the discussions which led to the EU sanctions regime and we successfully called for Sudan to be placed on the agenda of the EU Foreign Affairs Council.”
“In an age when there is a constant information flow to our phones, sometimes I believe there is a perception that our human sensibilities can become desensitised to unspeakable horror and the inhuman practices and behaviours that seem to be endlessly documented, not least those reported and shown to us from Sudan. On a personal level, I am sure I share with all colleagues the absolute disdain, distaste and horror at the deliberate targeting of civilians by all parties to the conflict. In El Fasher, across north Darfur and in Kordofan, we have seen appalling atrocities, including ethnically motivated killings, systematic sexual and gender-based violence, and starvation used as a weapon of war. Most chillingly, there is the obstruction of humanitarian aid. These acts are clear breaches of international humanitarian and human rights law.”
“Sadly, it is one of many conflicts taking place around the world today that need to be front and centre in our minds. As other colleagues have noted, the situation in Sudan is the world's worst humanitarian and protection crisis. The numbers have been rehearsed a number of times in the Chamber, with more than 150,000 lives lost, 12 million people forcibly displaced and 21 million facing crisis levels of hunger, including famine. These numbers represent families torn apart, communities destroyed and people's futures eradicated and disappeared in front of their very eyes.”
“Today, the BBC reported on an interview it had with a man who escaped the last functioning hospital in the Sudanese city of El Fasher before a reported massacre by paramilitary troops. Abdu-Rabbu Ahmed, who was a laboratory technician in the maternity hospital, told the BBC, "I have lost my colleagues". He said, "I have lost the people whose faces I used to see smiling" and that it "feels as if you lost a big part of your body or your soul". Other Members have addressed what is happening in Sudan today, which is without doubt one of the gravest humanitarian crises of our time. It is a catastrophic conflict. More importantly, it has been easy to think of it as a distant tragedy but it is not. If anything, it is a moral imperative for all of us who believe in human dignity and international law.”
“Does the Tánaiste agree that we should make more granular performance data on our public transport systems available for all routes in order to build that public confidence and, as I have previously suggested, enable a traffic light system to show daily performance of individual bus routes around the country? That transparency can only build confidence.”
“This now needs to happen as a matter of urgency, as it has come to a head in light of the reaction and the way in which the issues around route 80 have been dealt with. While I have engaged with individual operators on individual service matters, I understand that they operate within the parameters set by the NTA. We need to build confidence in our public transport system. The NTA's statement yesterday that operational data for route 80 showed no major issues did not match the experience of commuters in Palmerstown and Chapelizod, who have been let down in recent weeks.”
“The alignment of route 80 away from the quays on O'Connell Bridge has been identified as the cause of many of the operational issues affecting the operation of that route and the commuters who use it, including my constituents in Palmerstown. While I understand from the belated statement from the NTA yesterday that a review of the route is now underway, something that has been called for by elected representatives for some time now, it may take months. We need to arrive at a sustainable solution much faster, which is something the Tánaiste and the Minister for Transport will support. This goes to the heart of an issue we have correctly identified in the programme for Government. We have promised to review the structures and operation of the NTA to strengthen its engagement with local authorities, communities and stakeholders.”
“Yesterday's announcement is very welcome in terms of the infrastructure foundations put in place to harness the economic potential of the shared island. Part of that, which we have discussed in this House, is the role of the all-island labour market and the need for focus and skills. I would love to hear from the Taoiseach about what engagement is happening with the Northern Ireland Executive with regard to building up the SME sector across both sides of the island. They will be the fabric that knit the economic fabric of this island together in creating the shared island and creating a shared and united future for all. What schemes are being put in place to incentivise and promote that?”
“However, a regulatory regime must strike a balance between the need for convenience and the need for safety, not only of e-scooter users but of other road users as well. I would love to work with the Minister of State and other Ministers to bring forward a regulatory regime that would bring that accountability to the use of e-scooters while maintaining their safe use for convenience.”
“I thank the Minister of State for his reply. The other aspect of this I am worried about is that anecdotal evidence from my constituency and around the country suggests that e-scooters are being used in many cases to facilitate antisocial behaviour, and because they do not have to be registered to an owner, there is no accountability regarding the vehicle. There are concerns about visibility for other road users. As the Minister of State said, there are also concerns about footpaths being used to facilitate e-scooters, all of which is illegal. The introduction of a regime with registration or insurance requirements would make sure the user would have accountability. Any regulatory regime would have to acknowledge that e-scooters create convenience for a lot of road users and that they are part of our overall active travel approach.”
“These are different vehicles from push bikes and separate from the use of infrastructure by pedestrians. They are mechanically propelled and that has to be taken into account in the regulations. There is a need for an operator permit model.”
“The Minister of State will be aware of recent reports of e-scooters being sold openly in Irish shops which do not meet those safety requirements and are, therefore, illegal to use on Irish roads. My fear is we are becoming an outlier in western Europe. In France and Germany, e-scooters and, therefore, the users need to be insured. In Italy, e-scooters need to have a licence plate and be insured and registered. There is a requirement on users to practice safe use of e-scooters. One interesting aspect of the German model is e-scooters have to come with an operating permit and, to get the permit, the e-scooter must comply with requirements including having a maximum speed of 20 km/h. That enables its sale on the German market. The time has come to not just look at general regulations.”
“Will the Minister of State consider undertaking a review of the regulatory regime for e-scooters? He will be aware of the Road Safety Authority survey earlier this year which showed nearly a quarter of regular e-scooter users have been involved in an accident and one third have been involved in a near miss. We know the number of accidents involving e-scooters on our roads is increasing and that 416 e-scooters had been seized by An Garda Síochána as of 6 October this year. We have no regulatory regime in place for the users of e-scooters and I am keen to see action on that.”
“If I have any last call to action it is: that we create a space in this country where we can have the discussion about security and defence policy without instantly running to the ramparts and saying, "Neutrality is under threat"; that we actually take account of the fact that the same people stood by us when we asked them for help 20 or 30 years ago or even ten years ago and that we show that same level of solidarity and we do not dismiss their concerns; that we make sure that the public debate in this country reflects the very real fear that is being felt in countries around the world; that we act as a Government and as a Dáil to ensure that our Defence Forces are well equipped to protect our country; and, ultimately, that we are seen as European partners who stand in solidarity, whatever form that may be, while also respecting our traditional military neutrality in this country.”
“We do not want a peace that is forced by the might of larger countries because they have demonstrated military aggression. There is a role for the EU in safeguarding that peace and honouring that peace. It needs to be a fair peace, it needs a balanced approach to that peace and it needs to respect the fundamental principles at the heart of European liberal democracies, which are the integrity of the nation state, the ability of a state to protect its borders and, fundamentally, the right to self-determination for a country.”
“We must recognise that Ireland now is a very strategic economic, communications and digital location for not only companies but also our Government and our European partners. We must show that we are able to protect what we have, what we hold dear, and the European Union must show that it stands in solidarity with those countries that do feel that fear. That, ultimately, is a success of the European Union project. It shows the ability of smaller member states to be protected by others but also to allow them to punch above their weight in their influence in global affairs. It is important that we acknowledge this. Finally, I want to talk about peace in Ukraine. All of us across the European Union and across the world want peace in Ukraine, but we want a just peace.”
“To go back to my fundamental point, we cannot ignore the fact the war on European soil has brought into focus the very real threat that countries that are our European partners feel around the possibility of Russian aggression. We need to create a responsible space in this country to discuss this. It is a grey area and anyone on any side of this debate needs to accept there will be ambiguity in some of the terminology and some of the definitions we use. However, we need to open the conversation about how we safeguard our neutrality, how we stand in solidarity with our European allies and how we make sure our Defence Forces, of which we are all very proud and which have a proud legacy of peacekeeping, are equipped properly and that we have the equipment to keep Ireland safe, be it on land, air, sea or from cyber attacks.”
“It is important that we recognise the very real threats that exist in regard to cyber warfare and the incursion of drones into our airspace. I am very proud that Baldonnel aerodrome is in my constituency and I encourage the new Minister for Defence to continue the rapid programme of investment in giving us radar capability to understand what is in our skies and to be able to respond accordingly. Again, that is not increasing militarisation; it is prudent safeguarding of the security of the country. It is important that we create a discussion where we look at other neutral countries that are not members of military alliances and the investment they make in their defence forces to ensure they can secure their neutrality and protect their borders in a balanced and reasonable way.”
“I pay tribute to all communities and households who have welcomed Ukrainian people into their families, communities and schools. Fundamentally, our schools very quickly pivoted, reacted and embraced the Ukrainian children who came into their schools and made them part of our society and community and integrated them fully. Great credit is due to all of the schools around the country that undertook this act. I give particular credit to the teachers and parents involved in each instance. It does now force us in Ireland to hold a mirror to ourselves in terms of how we would respond to any form of aggression that might be part of this. This is not just in terms of conventional military warfare. We saw the devastating impact of the cyberattack on the HSE a number of months ago and how that crippled its IT system.”
“That is why is it important, not only in recognising the immediate threat Russia poses to countries in the Baltics, for example, or in Scandinavia, that the European Union is also seen to take a stand on the need for the championing of democracy, the need for the integrity of borders, the need for the integrity of the nation state and ultimately, the respect of self-determination for people in respect of where they want to go and how they want to govern themselves, which has been violated by the invasion of Ukraine by Russia. We have led a very humanitarian response in this country. Over 100,000 people have come to our country seeking temporary protection as a result of the war. That is something I have seen in my own constituency.”
“While the war in Ukraine and the aggression by Russia are entirely illegal and undermine international law, in many ways they show that we need to stand for the sovereignty of the nation state, and not only for the sovereignty of the nation state but for the integrity of its borders and territory as well. If we fail to do that, then we very much fail to uphold the principle underpinning the European Union and the modern concept of the nation state, namely, that it has inviolable borders and that that is a principle worth recognition and acknowledgement in and of itself.”