Article 20 of Treaty on European Union Regarding Enhanced Co-operation: Motion Seanad Éireann — 2026-01-27 ============================================================ Maria McCormack (SF), Labour Panel I second the amendment. I thank the Minister of State for coming in. Sinn Féin has roundly condemned the Russian Federation's invasion of Ukraine. It was an illegal act of military aggression and a flagrant violation of sovereignty and international law. It has caused devastating human suffering. Nothing in what we say today diminishes that truth. The people of Ireland have rightly had immense pride in our support for and solidarity with the people of Ukraine since Russia invaded, but the people of Ireland are equally as proud of our neutrality. It is, after all, our neutrality that makes our solidarity in times of struggle so valuable. Our ability to engage in diplomacy over battle lines and in peacekeeping in times of war is what Ireland is respected for all over the world. What we see before us today is a really sharp and dangerous U-turn. It is a clear covert attempt to undermine our neutrality and fund war. Some €60 billion of this €90 billion loan is designed to go towards weapons. That is where the big problem is. Make no mistake, this loan will do nothing other than ensure the war can continue. We should be helping both sides to engage in peace talks. Our answer is "No". I am really disappointed that our amendment could not be accepted. We have no problem with supporting humanitarian aid in any sense but there is no precedent for us to take part in this loan. We are a neutral country. At a time when services at home are on their knees, how do we explain to constituents in Laois €60 billion of support for Ukraine for a war? Earlier today, I spoke in this Chamber about how there are no detox beds in Portlaoise hospital. We cannot cater for our medical emergency needs and yet we are looking to send money to a war. We are supposed to be a neutral country. This completely undermines everything we are as a State. It seems the Government just does not care about our neutrality. If the Government wants to dismantle our neutrality, that needs to be put to the Irish people for a vote. Sinn Féin says "No". We should not give €90 billion to Ukraine when €60 billion of it is to be spent on weapons. We have no problem supporting the Ukrainian people. We have welcomed them into our homes and our communities. An enormous number of families from Ukraine are living in Laois. I welcome every opportunity given to them in our communities. We have helped them enormously. Helping Ukraine to fund the war is not the way to bring about peace. It is putting Ireland in a really dangerous position with the EU. This is a devastating mistake for Ireland. --- Source: Houses of the Oireachtas. Licensed under CC BY 4.0 (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/). The Official Report is revised after first publication; the fetch timestamp below identifies the version quoted. Record URI: https://data.oireachtas.ie/akn/ie/debateRecord/seanad/2026-01-27/debate/main Retrieved: 2026-08-14T04:54:33+00:00 Sitting date: 2026-01-27