Ceisteanna ó Cheannairí - Leaders' Questions
Dail Éireann — 2026-01-13
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Ivana Bacik (LAB), Dublin Bay South

In the spirit of new year’s goodwill, I will start by agreeing with the Taoiseach. Of course, Russia represents the biggest threat to Europe and to democracy. That is why I prefaced my remarks by saying that.
Of course, Iran is a brutally repressive regime. The Taoiseach does not need to tell us that. I am the only Opposition leader on Putin's blacklist. We have stood very clearly and firmly in solidarity with the people of Ukraine and, indeed, the pro-democracy protesters in Iran, but it is at this time, when we are seeing authoritarianism spreading across the world from countries like Russia, Iran and China, that we need our allies to stand with us. This is when we need to be sure we can rely on other peaceful democracies to stand with us. That is why I framed my remarks as I did. Right now, we cannot rely on the US as a functioning peaceful democracy because we are seeing Trump threatening international law and, indeed, riding roughshod over international-law principles. That is really dangerous. Ireland is going to have an important position this year when it holds the Presidency of the EU. What is the Taoiseach going to do as leader of the country then to take a stand in support of international law and principles of democracy?

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Record URI: https://data.oireachtas.ie/akn/ie/debateRecord/dail/2026-01-13/debate/main
Retrieved: 2026-08-14T04:54:30+00:00
Sitting date: 2026-01-13